Consultant warns of public backlash over council management salaries

A Yorkshire Post investigation has revealed that during the last three years the number of officers earning £50,000 a year or more has rocketed by more than a third.

Local authorities denied accusations of irresponsible financial management, with some claiming they had saved millions of pounds by cutting senior staff. Council bosses have said cuts to front-line services are an inevitable consequence of the cuts to their funding by the Government.

But Iain Hasdell, KPMG’s Leeds based UK head of local government, said the region has a history of being slow to cut management staff and warned public opposition could create more problems.

He said: “To some extent councils have had their hand forced towards front-line actions because the front loading of the funding reductions has removed the time that would be required to achieve the necessary cost reduction through entirely back and middle office routes such as outsourcing.

“Will councils, some of whom face elections, be able to deliver the front-line service cuts committed to in their budgets once local people understand their plans and mobilise opposition? If they do not deliver then councils will have to look to other potentially even more controversial cuts as financial compensation.”

A spokeswoman for York Council, where the numbers of high earners more than doubled, said: “The council has recently completed a reorganisation of its senior management team. The council now has one of the smallest management teams of any comparable authority and the restructure has produced an annual saving of £1.6m, rising to £2.3m.”

In Leeds numbers rocketed from 263 in 2007 to 316 in 2010, before they were cut back to 285 this year. A spokeswoman said: “The reduction in staff earning over £50,000 is a result of council’s overall plan to reduce the cost of running the council to respond to the current budget pressures.”

According to their accounts, there was a huge rise at Sheffield Council during the three years from 121 to 183, a spokeswoman said that figured had been cut back to 121 this year.

She said: “This year’s budget report shows the number employed by the authority has dropped by 14 per cent to 121 to the level of four years ago and that momentum will continue over the next 12 months. We’re committed to making the council more efficient and leaner in tough economic times.”

Hull Council was unable to provide figures for this year, their accounts revealed a significant rise in the last three years from 91 to 146.

A spokeswoman said: “There have already been significant reductions – the number of senior management posts have been reduced by 31 per cent.

“In March 2007 we had 29 senior management posts at a cost of £2,615,000 and this was reduced to 20 posts at January 2011, the current cost is £1,914,000.

“The chief executive’s pay has been reduced by 20 per cent.”