Lincolnshire town halls rich list 2015

Over 60 Lincolnshire council employees pocketed wages of over £100,000 in the year 2013-14, with high earning public servants receiving as much as £206,383.

Executive salaries in many local authorities remain high, according to data published by the TaxPayers’ Alliance on Tuesday, November 10.

Some 62 council employees had total annual remuneration over £100,000 in the Town Hall Rich List, which includes salary, fees, allowances, bonuses, benefits in kind, compensation for loss of office ad employers’ pension contributions.

Of those, eight employees made over £150,000, with the highest paid council executive in the county named as Tony McArdle, who received £206,383 for his role as Lincolnshire County Council’s Chief Executive.

All those named as the highest paid executive officers in the county have received significant rises compared with figures from the previous year.

Seven people were named in the full 2015 list of highest paid Lincolnshire public servants:

1. Tony McArdle – Lincolnshire County Council Chief Executive – £206,383
2. Tony Hill – Lincolnshire County Council Director of Public Health – £181,857
3. Simon Driver – North Lincolnshire Council Chief Executive – £163,228
4. Rob Walsh – North East Lincolnshire Council Chief Executive – £150,580
5. Peter Moore – Lincolnshire County Council Executive Director of Resources and Community Safety – £151,348
6. Unknown – Lincolnshire County Council Executive Director for Performance and Government – £150,285 (no name disclosed as the role no longer exists)
7. Debbie Barnes – Lincolnshire County Council Executive Director for Children’s Services – £150,211
8. Richard Wills – Lincolnshire County Council Executive Director for Communities – £150,211

“Competitive salaries”

Debbie Barnes, Executive Director for HR and one of those named in the list, said: “The county council runs with a relatively small senior management team for an organisation in charge of multi-million pound budgets providing services in the fourth largest county in England.

“We have significantly reduced the number of senior managers over the past few years, but we make sure that our salaries are competitive with similar councils to attract and retain the best people for the roles.

“Senior salaries in the public sector compare to those in the private sector, and we are confident that the taxpayer gets good value for money.”

A number of employees at local councils across Lincolnshire earned over £100,000, but were not named in the list.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance explained that while councils’ responses to FOI requests included some names of the most senior staff, some roles were exempt from disclosure rules.

The breakdown of council employees earning over £100,000 is:

• North Kesteven District Council – four employees
• City of Lincoln Council – five employees
• East Lindsey District Council – one employee
• West Lindsey District Council – one employee
• South Kesteven District Council – four employees
• North Lincolnshire Council – four employees, plus one earning over £150,000
• North East Lincolnshire Council – ten employees, plus one earning over £150,000
• Boston Borough Council – two employees
• Lincolnshire County Council – 22 employees, plus six earning over £150,000 and one earning over £200,000

Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the City of Lincoln Council, said: “Salary scales for senior local government officers reflect the high levels of responsibility in running large public organisations.

“We think our Chief Executive is appropriately remunerated.”

The salary band for the council’s Chief Executive is £100,344-£111,471. The City of Lincoln Council Chief Executive was Andrew Taylor, who left recently due to ill health.

The council named Angela Andrews at the new Chief Executive in July.

A spokesperson from North Kesteven District Council said: “North Kesteven District Council believes that professional and admirable senior management is essential to ensuring the council achieves its vision of North Kesteven and to deliver efficient public services for its residents. This is particularly important given that we live in a time of austerity and financial constraint.

“At NKDC, the pay ratio between the highest paid employee and the lowest paid employee stands at 11.3:1. The Hutton Review on Senior Pay for the Government published in 2011 recommended a maximum ratio of 20:1, so NKDC is paying its staff much less that it could allowably do.

“As stated in the council’s Statement of Accounts, the council only has one officer whose salary is over £100,000 per year – Chief Executive Ian Fytche.

“However, the council does have two further officers whose total “remuneration” comes to £100,000 salary when the pension contribution that the council is contractually required to make is added to their salary. These are the council’s Deputy Chief Executive and the Corporate Director and in the year that this study relates to these were Alan Thomas and Karen Bradford.”

Key findings of the research outlined that, across the UK, at least 3,483 council employees received total remuneration in excess of £100,000.

Some 537 council employees pocketed over £150,000 and 23 employees received over £250,000.

Between 2009-10 and 2014-15, local authority spending has been reduced by 23.4% per person in real terms.

Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TPA, said: “Local authorities that are providing more for less and delivering council tax cuts clearly have talented people at the helm, but taxpayers living in poorly performing areas will be furious at the scale of some of these massive pay awards.

“After more than a decade of reckless spending and council tax hikes, local politicians now have to make necessary savings and the pay and perks for the town hall elite have to come under the spotlight.

“We all deserve to know how our money is being spent, and taxpayers should have the right to decide if they are getting value for their money from public servants.”