Town Hall Rich List: The South Tyneside Council jobs earning more than £100,000

The latest figures published in the TaxPayers’ Alliance Town Hall Rich List have revealed the top earners in local authorities across the UK.

In South Tyneside, three senior workers received salaries in 2020/21 worth more than £100,000, while three were given more than £90,000 and a further two took home more than £80,000.

Together with pension contributions, the final bill for the group of top earners in the borough was almost £1 million.

A South Tyneside Council spokesperson said: “South Tyneside has been rated as a high performing council.

"Since 2010 the Council has significantly reduced its management costs, resulting in a structure which is leaner, more efficient and offers greater value for money to our residents.

“Competitive salaries are paid to attract and retain talented individuals who are responsible for the delivery of highly complex public services that our residents rely on.”

Nationally, the data found the number of officials receiving more than £100,000 went up to 2,921 during the covid pandemic, with 739 getting more than £150,000.

In South Tyneside, however, figures have remained flatter, the number of top earners staying the same from 2019/20 to 2020/21, while the number earning over the £100,000 threshold fell by one.

According to the data, the top paid position was chief executive, on £130,644 per year, followed by the corporate director business and resources on £123,191 – although an “undisclosed” position was handed a salary of £132,500.

A further five positions recorded pay worth between £86,802 – £93,492.

The former chief executive of Croydon council, Jo Negrini, received a staggering £613,895, the highest remuneration of any council employee in the country.

For the second year running, Northumberland was named the North East council with the most employees receiving more than £100,000 in 2020/21 with 20 - seven more than the previous year.

In the North East as a whole, the number of council employees paid more than £100,000 rose from 95 in 2019/20, to 110 in 2020/21.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers facing a cost of living crisis want to know they are getting value for money from their local authority leadership.

“With households having suffered through the pandemic and now struggling under colossal tax bills, the country needs councils to prioritise key services without resorting to punishing tax hikes.

“These figures will allow residents to judge town hall bosses for themselves and hold their local councils to account.”

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