Council bosses 'earn more than PM'.

14/02/2011

Nearly half of council chief executives in England and Wales were paid more than the Prime Minister last year, new research has claimed.

Incomes Data Services (IDS) figures showed that salaries for bosses at local authorities ranged from £62,000 in West Somerset to almost £300,000 in in the London borough of Wandsworth.

Just under half (43%) of chief executives at the 300 councils were paid more than £150,000 in 2010, more than the £142,500 salary received by David Cameron.

The report found that county council chief executives in the South East were the highest paid with average earnings of £204,000, compared with £159,000 in the South West. Only one in five chief executives was female, although pay rates were similar to men, said the IDS report.

Nasreen Rahman, of IDS, said: "With nearly half of all local authority chief executives earning more than the Prime Minister, clearly, in the current climate, town hall bosses will be facing tough questions from council tax payers."

Copyright © Press Association 2011