Former council boss was among top earners

EXETER had one of the highest paid council employees in 2022-23, according to new data.

In the 2022-23 financial year, Exeter City Council’s then chief executive and growth director Karime Hassan received a total remuneration of £39,80. He retired in March 2023 after almost 10 years in the role.

The figure reportedly made him the highest paid council employee in the South West and the 11th highest in the UK that year. That is according to data compiled by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which has been publishing the figures since 2007. It looks at total pay, including salaries, employer’s pension contributions, benefits, bonuses, expenses election duty fees and redundancy payments, among other figures.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance said the number of council bosses receiving more than £100,000 stood at 3,10, which is the highest since 2015 and the second highest since it began publishing the list. The number receiving more than £150,000 hit a record high of 829 and 175 council staff members received more than £200,000.

However, 59 councils did not file their annual statement of accounts for 2022-23, including East Devon District Council, which said it was due to “delays in auditing previous accounts and delays in the availability of required information”.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Local authorities provide crucial services and residents will want to make sure they are getting bang for their buck with their ever-increasing bills. Residents can use these figures to ask whether precious funds are really going towards frontline services, or whether town hall bosses can get better value for money.”

Karime Hassan retired as Exeter City Council chief executive and growth director in March 2023