Town hall 'fat cats' face veto under Tories

COUNCILLORS will be able to veto pay rises for council top earners under plans unveiled by the Tories after a new "rich list" revealed the full scale of town hall pay.

Dozens of chief executives and council directors across Yorkshire are now pocketing six-figure salaries, with several earning more than the 144,520 salary of a Cabinet minister.

Across the country, at least 31 council employees received pay packages of more than the Prime Minister's 197,689 last year, although no one in the region broke through that barrier.

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Leeds City Council chief executive Paul Rogerson is the highest paid town hall employee in Yorkshire, while Leeds, East Riding and Kirklees councils all reported having at least ten employees on deals worth at least 100,000 including extra allowances, according to the Taxpayers Alliance.

Today the Tories will announce they will require any new salary of over 150,000 to be voted on by the full council, giving councillors the chance to veto "unacceptable" pay packages.

Shadow Local Government Secretary Caroline Spelman said: "Pay and perks for town hall bosses have spiralled out of control. Labour ministers have looked the other way while taxpayers' money has poured into hugely inflated senior staff pay deals. We need greater transparency and greater controls."

Today's "town hall rich list", compiled by the Taxpayers Alliance, reveals that 1,250 council staff enjoyed remuneration of 100,000 or more in 2008-09, up 14 per cent from 1,099 in 2007-08.

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The numbers of people earning more than 150,000 rose from 135 to 166, while the average pay rise for six-figure earners was five per cent as many private sector employees faced pay freezes or job losses.

Hull City Council had been one of the highest payers, with former chief executive Kim Ryley earning 196,298 in salary and allowances, but he has since left and his replacement, Nicola Yates, earns 160,000. Council leader Carl Minns said: "In the last six months we've cut the chief executive's salary by 20 per cent, and also we've reduced the number of senior managers at the council considerably."

The remuneration package for East Riding Council chief executive Nigel Pearson was 176,374, while resources director Sue Lockwood – who has attracted controversy after the council made a 360,000 payment into her pension fund this year – benefited from a 17 per cent increase in her total package. Council leader Steven Parnaby said: "These figures are huge, but we need to employ the best people."

A spokeswoman for Leeds City Council said: "Leeds is the country's second biggest unitary council, with 35,000 employees and a budget of 2.7bn, and remains open and transparent about its salary levels."

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New Government rules which came into force yesterday mean councils must publish in their annual reports the names and salary of anyone earning over 150,000, and the number of people earning over 50,000.

Local Government Secretary John Denham hailed the new rules as "groundbreaking" and has appealed to councils to keep pay to below 150,000. "As we bear down on the national debt and protect front-line services, the public needs to know that Government is taking every step to control excess spending on public sector pay," he said.

But the Tories want tougher rules with anyone earning over 60,000 being identified so the "light of transparency" is shone on "town hall fat cats".

Liberal Democrat local government spokesman Julia Goldsworthy said: "Public servants should have their pay increases capped at 400 so that those with the lowest incomes get the biggest increase in take home pay."

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A spokesman for the Local Government Association said the figures only represented 0.0008 per cent of council workers and said money was spent wisely. But he added: "In these tough economic times, it is only right that everyone gets to see how much is paid to the people who help deliver their local services."