The public sector does not provide value for money - Yorkshire Post Letters

I am writing in response to a letter from Dr Andy Asquith in The Yorkshire Post (08/04), regarding our publication the Town Hall Rich List.

Needless to say, I disagree with much of what he said - most notably the obvious nonsense that "you will simply not find any roles in the private sector with responsibilities and complexity which match those of senior local government or indeed other senior public employees."

He can't actually believe, for example, that the "director for place and climate change" at North Norfolk District Council is as complex of a role as a quantitative analyst, artificial intelligence developer, genetic engineer, or international tax lawyer.

However, more pertinently, I am interested in his claim that "the salaries enjoyed by senior people in the private sector simply dwarf those of public servants."

According to our Office for National Statistics, the average gross pay in the public sector in the UK for all employees in 2023-24 was £33,590 in the public sector and £31,058 in the private sector.

Pay for both part time and full time workers is higher on average in the public sector than the private sector, despite the fact that on average they work fewer hours, have more annual leave, take more sick leave, and have far more generous pensions.

It's only at the 75th percentile where the pay gap shifts in favour of the private sector. Even then, when taking into account total remuneration it wouldn't be until likely the 90th percentile that the shift happens.

Perhaps the situation is different in Australia, where Dr Asquith is based. But based on the data here in the UK, what he claimed in his letter was fundamentally false.