Number of council bosses receiving over £100,000 rises

The TaxPayers’ Alliance has found that the number of officials receiving more than £100,000 went up to 2,921 during the Covid pandemic, with 739 getting more than £150,000.

The annual Town Hall Rich List, with a council-by-council breakdown of local government executive pay deals, shows that during the coronavirus pandemic, the number of council staff receiving more than £100,000 had increased by 119 to at least 2,921 people, the most since 2013-14.

Of that figure, 739 received over £150,000, 46 more than the previous year and the highest number since the TPA began releasing the Rich List. Of the ten local authorities with the most employees receiving over £100,000, eight of them were London councils.

The 15th annual Town Hall Rich List is a vital tool for taxpayers wanting to judge which authorities are delivering the best value for money. The think tank says that this is especially important for residents facing the cost of living crisis, with council tax bills going up across the country.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance is calling on local authorities to stop rises and cut down on wasteful spending by scrapping pet projects and unnecessary pay rises for town hall bosses.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers facing a cost of living crisis want to know they are getting value for money from their local authority leadership. With households having suffered through the pandemic and now struggling under colossal tax bills, the country needs councils to prioritise key services without resorting to punishing tax hikes. These figures will allow residents to judge town hall bosses for themselves and hold their local councils to account.”