News from Plymouth Labour

Plymouth Labour call for publication of senior council salaries

Plymouth Labour Councillors have supported the call from Local Government Minister John Healey MP, for openness and transparency in what is paid to senior Plymouth City Council staff.

Mr Healey said:

“We’ve seen top council salaries spiralling recently. We’ve seen some councils change top managers like Premiership football clubs, sometimes with big pay-offs for failure.”

Figures from the Audit Commission show the salaries of council chiefs increased by more than a third in the past four years.

Mr Healey said the measures would enable people to “put their councils on the spot for the pay and perks they give out” and “make councils think a lot harder”.

He said:

“The level of disclosure we require for councils is well short of that which we require for top civil servants and I think the public need to know the full picture.

“These are big organisations that need the best calibre people, but they have to be ready to defend what they do and answer to the voters for the decisions they make.”

Councillor Bill Stevens said:

“At a time of national stringency, with everyone feeling the pinch, we have an increased responsibility to show Plymouth tax-payers their money is being used wisely. There is a danger, in any walk of life, that people who get paid too much lose touch with what happens at the coal-face, and here in Plymouth that’s something we need to avoid.

“The level of Councillors’ allowances has been public information for some time, and that must continue, but that openness needs to be extended to those who have power, but are not accountable at the ballot box. We’ve all seen the reaction to over-inflated salaries in the banking sector, and we need to guard against our Council Tax going on similar out-of-control wages for people at the top.

“This increased openness and accountability is long overdue and will be welcomed by everyone in Plymouth who wants value for money from their Council Tax. Hopefully Plymouth’s Conservative Administration will agree and we look forward to this information being published as soon as possible.”

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