30 May 2003
Local authority bosses have been armed with statistics on private sector salaries to rebut allegations that they are overpaid.
The information has been issued by the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives because of new accounting regulations that require councils to publish its members' pay rates, deputy chief executive Mike Bennett said.
Comparisons show that a county council chief executive's average salary is £128,517, for overseeing 21,484 staff and £567m of spending. Private firm Compass Services pays its chief executive £271,000 for responsibility for only slightly higher staff and turnover levels.
The chief executive of a large average metropolitan or unitary authority receives £180,000 for leading 20,000 staff and spending £1.2bn of revenue. But Rank Group pays its chief £1.1m for an almost identical size of operation.
Bennett said: 'The comparisons are quite telling. Chief executives are running very large organisations in terms of staff numbers and services. They might provide services ranging from protection of children at risk to planning. It is interesting to compare the pay for that to the pay of people who sell videos or frozen sausages.'
He said that given their responsibilities it was unjust for the public to regard them as fat cats. 'In some areas this is a problem. The News of the World has even run stories with photographs of our members' homes and children because of their salaries,' he added.
Bennett pointed out that recruitment and retention problems have hit some councils and that they have been forced to increase pay to attract the right people. Bradford recently advertised a £200,000 salary for a chief executive, believed to be the highest offered.
l The trade & industry select committee will hold an inquiry into directors' pay when the government publishes its consultation paper this summer.
Chair Martin O'Neill told Public Finance it would be unlikely to examine public sector pay, as this was 'by and large under a degree of control'.
He said: 'I don't think there are any simple solutions, but the idea that people are paid additional benefits regardless of performance has caused public anxiety and, indeed, offence.'
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