16 council workers on £100,000
THE leader of the Welsh Conservatives has hit out at figures showing 16 Cardiff council workers were on pay packages of more than £100,000 last year.
Latest figures compiled by campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance show the number of six-figure earners in local government in Wales is on the rise, and four Cardiff council workers were on more than £150,000 .
Across the UK, more than 2,300 council employees earned six-figure sums in 2015-16. A total of 107 of those workers were in Wales, up from 105 a year earlier.
According to the TaxPayers’ Alliance, in Wales “Cardiff City Council had the most employees who received remuneration in excess of £100,000, with 16.”
Swansea had the second highest number (13), followed by Wrexham (12) and Caerphilly and Torfaen (six each).
Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Tories, queried the scale of the top council pay in the Welsh capital, and highlighted last year’s “Christmas tree debacle” in the city, when a muchmocked 40ft artificial tree was hired for £30,000 for three years after initially being described as a much taller “40m” tree. He said: “No one would argue that salaries should be decided on an arbitrary basis – but I do think residents will ask questions about the six-figure salaries paid by Cardiff council.
“For that sort of pay – people rightly expect the very highest of standards – and sadly there are far too many examples where the council has fallen short.
“From the farce surrounding the Christmas tree to council tax rises – many people in Cardiff do not feel they get value for money – so they will ask whether these salaries are justified.”
A Cardiff council spokesman said: “Cardiff council is the largest local authority in Wales, employing over 15,000 staff, which would explain why it has the highest number of employees at councils in Wales receiving more than £100,000.
“However, we have a councilapproved pay policy and structure in place which ensures transparency of salaries being paid. Cardiff council delivers many hundreds of services to the capital city of Wales and, like all organisations, needs to attract the right people to the most senior jobs.
“All senior officer salaries are reviewed and independently benchmarked to ensure they are in line with other public service organisations.”
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Despite many in the public sector facing a much-needed pay freeze to help bring the public finances under control, many town hall bosses are continuing to pocket huge remuneration packages, with the number of people on six-figure deals actually going up since last year. The sheer scale of these packages raise serious questions about efficiency and priorities.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Responsibility for determining senior pay in local authorities rests locally with democratically-elected members.
“However, we fully support transparency in public sector pay and have previously published principles for how this can be achieved in the Welsh public sector. Our current statutory guidance recommends that any exit payment which costs a local authority more than £100,000 must be approved by a vote in full council.”