It’s a fifty grand life for 185 council staff

Reporter: OUR LOBBY CORRESPONDENT
Date online: 23 January 2009

Middle management salary packages add up to £11.73m

MORE than £11 million is paid to Oldham Council middle managers who are cashing in on salaries and benefits topping £50,000, a report today reveals.

According to information from the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which campaigns for lower taxes, in 2007/8 there were 185 staff with remuneration packages of more than £50,000 at Oldham council.

The total costs stood at £11.73 million — or £53.46 per person across the district.

The previous year there were 174 middle managers earning more than the £50,000 package.

Nationally, the number of middle managers employed by councils has risen by more than 20 per cent in the last year, from 31,000 to almost 37,000. A remuneration package is the total people earn, including salary, bonuses, commissions, and all other benefits available as part of the job.

Those benefits may include health and life insurance, contributions to a retirement plan, use of a company car, and similar benefits.

Oldham chief executive Charlie Parker wants a cull of top jobs believing the council is overstaffed in comparison with other similar sized authorities.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers‚ Alliance, said: “Thousands of people are losing their jobs in the private sector, yet councils are better staffed and better paid than ever.

“Councils are ignoring economic reality and simply recruiting more managers and handing out more pay rises than taxpayers can afford.

“Council tax bills are cripplingly high, and town halls must change their ways to bring the bill down.”

But the Local Government Association chief executive John Ransford said the figures were out of date and misleading.

He said: “The people who earn these salaries are responsible for multi-million pound budgets in highly complex organisations, and to attract the best and brightest people to deliver value for money, you have to pay a suitable wage.”

Oldham’s cabinet member for finance and resources, Lynne Thompson, said: “The reorganisation of the council shows that we are dedicated to giving council tax payers value for money while keeping the council tax increase to 2 per cent.

“The efficiency plan which the council is implementing will reduce the layers of management. Where there are up to ten layers at present, we will normally have no more than four.”