Cheshire council chief executive’s eye-watering £240k income

According to latest figures released by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA), Cheshire East Council’s chief executive takes home £180,083 plus pension contributions.

The chief executive and returning officer, received an extra £33,382, in fees and pension contributions, for overseeing the Police & Crime Commissioner elections and parish and borough council by-elections between April 2021 and March 2022.

The total amount Cheshire East paid for its chief exec over the year – including pension contributions – amounted to £241,131.

For running the UK Government Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earns just £164,951.

Dr O’Donnell commented: “It is important to recognise that Cheshire East, like other local authorities, pays the necessary market rate to attract the right people with the necessary skills and experience.

“Following restructure, senior managers have also taken on much wider responsibilities, while continuing to deliver frontline services and value for money for residents during a period of really significant challenges.

“Not the least of these has been emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic to face major inflationary pressures on council budgets and rising demand for services for our most vulnerable residents.”

Four top officers at Cheshire East earned more than £100,000, including one interim staff member who was paid £112,404 for just six months’ work.

If pension and other benefits are included, eight staff members cost the council more than £100,000 between April 2021 and March 2022.

Next on Cheshire East’s list was Jane Burns, executive director of corporate services, who earned £119,955 plus an additional £40,665 in pension contributions.

Monitoring officer David Brown, the director of governance and compliance, earned £103,092 plus £34,948 in pension contributions.

Cheshire East paid out an incredible £112,404 for an interim director of children’s services, who was in post for a period of just six months.

A council spokesperson said: “The council required specialist expertise in children’s services, following a restructure to better meet the demands of adults and children’s services, whilst recruitment was under way.

“This was for a short, planned period and was accommodated within the existing overall senior management budget.”

According to the TPA’s ‘town hall rich list’ the number of officials nationwide receiving more than £100,000 was 2,759, of which 721 received more than £150,000. Of the 10 local authorities with the most employees receiving more than £100,000, eight were in London.

The TPA figures show the managing director of Guildford Council received the highest remuneration of any council employee in the country, raking in £607,633 in total remuneration, including a £107,195 salary, £339,158 pension contribution and £5,688 in benefits.