*The town hall workers on £100,000+

By politics.co.uk staff
Over a thousand town hall workers are claiming salaries of over £100,000, new research has revealed.

The Town Hall Rich List 2009, published today by the TaxPayers' Alliance, shows 1,022 people are on more than £100,000 – up 27 per cent on last year. Over 115 of them are earning over £150,000.

The organisation said at least 16 people earn more than the prime minister, who takes home a salary of £194,250, including his MPs' salary.

"The size of council executives' pay and perks is staggering, and every year the cost continues to rise," said Maria Fort, policy analyst at the TaxPayers' Alliance.
"The fact that executives who have overseen increases in council tax, cuts in services and major policy failures are getting ever more generously rewarded is frustrating for taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet."

But the Local Government Association said the salaries were necessary to ensure the best people were found for the right jobs, and pointed out that the numbers raised related to just 0.0005 per cent of the local government workforce.

"Many councils have bigger budgets than FTSE 100 companies and to get the brightest people to deliver the best services for local people they need to pay a competitive wage," said John Ransford, head of the association.

"Unlike the private sector, people can show whether they think this is wrong by voting at the ballot box," he added.

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I don't always agree with the Taxpayers Alliance (Have a look at their sponsors), however, in this case they have a point. I remember, a few years ago, the the CEO of Barnet Council was being paid more than the PM.

You hear loads of calls for councillor allowances to be cut but nothing about the fat-cat executives who are definitely not good value for money. When a GP councillor suggested it recently, she was told it was impossible as they all have unbreakable contracts.

The statement by the LGA spokesperson must take the Nobel Prize for Spin. When do we get a chance to vote on fat-cat salaries?