We’re transparent on our highest earners

COUNCIL chiefs have come out fighting after a national newspaper suggested that they had refused to publish the salaries of top earners.

Instead, they say that they meet the current guidelines by publishing the salaries of Oldham’s senior officers who earn over £100,000-a-year.

From April, this will include staff earning £58,200 or more.

The Daily Telegraph said that some councils had refused government demands to identify staff earning more than the lower figure, as well as any spending over £500.

The story included comments from several councils, including one from Oldham which stated: “The spending limit of £500 risks unnecessary scrutiny on irrelevant areas, which leads to inappropriate, vexatious and at time trivial requests for information which takes the focus of the big issues and priorities.”

It continued that disclosing staff pay “could lead to harassment and questions of a perceived worth of an individual as opposed to a specific post.”

But Councillor Abdul Jabbar, cabinet member for finance and human resources, has now said: “The quotations in the Telegraph report are selective excerpts from a response to a department for communities and local government consultation that dates back to March, 2011.

“In this the council also stated at the outset that we generally agree with the principles behind what the Government was proposing.

“We have in fact been publishing the details of all purchases made from suppliers costing more than £500 since October, 2010. This was also done before the original January, 2011, deadline to comply.

“We’ve also published salaries in bands according to current guidelines and are now preparing to go even further.

“Oldham Council is committed to transparency and so — as part of our commitment to continually expanding the range of information available to our public — we will also be publishing all officer salaries above £58,200 on our website from April.”




Chief executive Charlie Parker leads Oldham Council’s pay list with a salary of £163,920.

He also has an additional allowance of £12,294 for duties related to Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority and employer pension contributions of £26,255 (14 per cent).

The other officers earning at least £100,000 are assistant chief executive Carolyn Wilkins, borough treasurer Steven Mair, three executive directors and two assistant executive directors.