Town Hall Rich List: Nearly 60 council bosses in Yorkshire paid over £150,000

Its latest Town Hall Rich List, which gives a detailed breakdown of local government executive pay across the country, shows that another 151 officials were on over £100,000 in Yorkshire in 2023 to 2024.

It comes as households are hit with increasing bills - including inflation-busting council tax rises.

Sheffield Council's chief executive Kate Josephs had the highest remuneration, including pension contributions of £40,566, in Yorkshire, of £254,010, followed by Richard Flinton, who heads North Yorkshire Council, and had a package of £231,770.

For the second year running, the council in Yorkshire and the Humber with the most employees who received remuneration in excess of £100,000 in 2023 to 2024 was Leeds, with 26.

Chief executive Tom Riordan, who stood down in September 2024, for a new job as Second Permanent Secretary in the Department of Health and Social Care, was paid £226,722, with five other officials on over £150,000 and 20 others on £100,000.

Meanwhile North Yorkshire Council had a total of seven executives including Mr Flinton, on over £150,000, and 16 on over £100,000.

The TA said nationally the number of Town Hall bosses on over £100,000 stood at a record breaking 3,906 - the highest level since the dataset was first published in 2007. This was partly due to more councils publishing their accounts.

The group said the surge in six-figure pay came as councils have seen boosts in revenues through council tax rises and increased funding from central government, including a 3.5 per cent real terms increase for councils in England announced in December.

Speaking on the council election campaign trail, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage promised to “send in the auditors, get rid of the fraudulent contracts and cut wasteful spending”.