Town Hall Rich List 2022 marks the 15th version of this research, first compiled in 2007. For the past 15 years the TaxPayers’ Alliance has assembled the most comprehensive list of council employees in the UK in receipt of over £100,000 in total remuneration in a single financial year.

For the average (band D) property, taxpayers in England will have to pay a council tax rise of 3.5 per cent, or an extra £68 per year in 2022-23. Wales will see an average increase of 2.7 per cent. All Scottish local authorities – apart from Shetland – will see an increase in 2022-23.

Against this background, the number of local authority employees receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration has risen to the highest level since 2013-14.

Full report – Town_Hall_Rich_List_2022.pdf (nationbuilder.com)

As households across the country face council tax hikes, the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) today publishes its annual Town Hall Rich List, the only comprehensive list of its kind with a council-by-council breakdown of local government executive pay deals.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the number of council staff receiving more than £100,000 had increased by 119 to at least 2,921 people, the most since 2013-14. 739 of these received over £150,000, 46 more than the previous year and the highest number since the TPA began releasing the Rich List. Of the ten local authorities with the most employees receiving over £100,000, eight of them were London councils.

The former chief executive of Croydon council, Jo Negrini, received the highest remuneration of any council employee in the country at £613,895. This is despite the council effectively declaring bankruptcy in November 2020. Negrini left the council in September 2020, and received a loss of office payment of £144,356 and a pension strain payment of £292,851.

The 15th annual Town Hall Rich List is a vital tool for taxpayers wanting to judge which authorities are delivering the best value for money. This is especially important for residents facing the cost of living crisis, with council tax bills going up across the country.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance is calling on local authorities to stop rises and cut down on wasteful spending by scrapping pet projects and unnecessary pay rises for town hall bosses.

In Herefordshire, the data shows that the chief executive of Herefordshire was in the top 20 in the country for highest single remuneration at £278,000.

PositionSalaryCompen-sationSub TotalPensionTotal
Chief executive134,000120,000254,00024,000278,000
Director for economy and place127,000127,00024,000151,000
Solicitor for the council (monitoring officer)127,000127,00024,000151,000
Chief finance officer/ section 151 officer128,000128,00023,000151,000
Director of public health126,000126,00010,000136,000
Director for adults and communities106,000106,00020,000126,000