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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Councils to publish executive pay | Councils to publish executive pay |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Rules forcing English councils to publish chief executives' salaries are to be introduced by the end of 2009. | |
| Minister Rosie Winterton said it would affect 2,500 officials and people had the right to see the full picture. | |
| About 20 council bosses are thought to earn more than the prime minister's £194,000 salary. | About 20 council bosses are thought to earn more than the prime minister's £194,000 salary. |
| The body representing council chiefs said it was advising them to be more open about pay - but the Tories said the rules did not go far enough. | |
| The new rules would force up to 475 local authority bodies, including Transport for London and police and fire authorities, to detail the salaries, bonuses, pensions, perks and compensation pay-offs of their most senior staff. | |
| 'Mood music' | 'Mood music' |
| In a speech to the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (Solace) in Brighton, Ms Winterton said: "In the current climate, the public rightly expect greater value for money from local services. | |
| "We are setting some pretty clear mood music about making sure every taxpayer's pound is worked as hard as possible. | "We are setting some pretty clear mood music about making sure every taxpayer's pound is worked as hard as possible. |
| "Councils must be able to show they are providing a fair deal on pay in an open and transparent way - the public have the right to see the full picture." | "Councils must be able to show they are providing a fair deal on pay in an open and transparent way - the public have the right to see the full picture." |
| If nobody knows what you do, how do you expect them to assess your value? Spokesman for the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives | If nobody knows what you do, how do you expect them to assess your value? Spokesman for the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives |
| She said the new disclosure standards would bring councils into line with standards required of civil servants, the government and private sector organisations. | |
| Shadow local government secretary Caroline Spelman welcomed the measures but said they did not go far enough. | |
| She said: "There needs to be far more openness and transparency in the public sector. All town hall spending on goods and services over £500 should be published online to give the press and public the power to scrutinise and stop wasteful spending." | |
| Average pay for local government workers has gone up £6,000 in seven years, but the average pay of chief executives has risen by £40,000, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government. | Average pay for local government workers has gone up £6,000 in seven years, but the average pay of chief executives has risen by £40,000, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government. |
| A spokesman for Solace said its members had been told it was not worth jousting with journalists and taxpayers' lobby groups and better to publish salaries on their website. | |
| Talented people | |
| He said this would be an opportunity for them to explain to the public what their job involved. | He said this would be an opportunity for them to explain to the public what their job involved. |
| "If nobody knows what you do, how do you expect them to assess your value?," he added. | "If nobody knows what you do, how do you expect them to assess your value?," he added. |
| John Ransford, chief executive of the Local Government Association, said it was right that chief executive pay was subject to public scrutiny. | John Ransford, chief executive of the Local Government Association, said it was right that chief executive pay was subject to public scrutiny. |
| "Councils need talented people in top management positions and in deciding salary levels they have to balance this with other policy objectives, including the need, in a tight financial situation, for all salaries to be demonstrably reasonable," he added. | "Councils need talented people in top management positions and in deciding salary levels they have to balance this with other policy objectives, including the need, in a tight financial situation, for all salaries to be demonstrably reasonable," he added. |
| Ministers have been concerned that chief executives' salaries appear to leap whenever they move to a new job, with little evidence that the performance of the local authority improves. | Ministers have been concerned that chief executives' salaries appear to leap whenever they move to a new job, with little evidence that the performance of the local authority improves. |
| Earlier this year, Communities Secretary John Denham asked the Audit Commission to look at so-called "boomerang bosses" who walk away with huge payouts, straight into the next job. | Earlier this year, Communities Secretary John Denham asked the Audit Commission to look at so-called "boomerang bosses" who walk away with huge payouts, straight into the next job. |
| He has also said he wanted to look at ways to limit pension entitlements of the highest earners. | He has also said he wanted to look at ways to limit pension entitlements of the highest earners. |