Pickles to require councils to set out how they appraise top-paid staff

Local authorities could be required to set out how they appraise the performance of their highest paid staff, the Communities Secretary has said.

In a response to a select committee report on senior pay in local government, Eric Pickles said councils would also have to explain the reason behind bonuses and how they dealt with poor performance.

The minister said he had instructed officials at the Department for Communities and Local Government to examine how the Local Government Transparency Code 2014 might be amended to bring in the changes.

Pickles said: “When we came to power hundreds of directors, executives and strategists were lining their pockets with hardworking families’ cash. But this government’s focus on excessive pay grounded pay rises received by senior council staff which had soared out of control during the noughties.

“But there is still more to do and councils should be focusing resources on protecting frontline services and keeping council tax down rather than throwing away taxpayers’ money.”

The Communities Secretary added: “Local taxpayers would be shocked to learn their council still has many highly paid staff on its payroll while pleading poverty and seeking to increase council tax. The gravy train is over and town halls must prove to hardworking families they are getting value for money from top earners.”

The DCLG claimed that more than 2,000 town hall staff in the UK were still taking home more than £100,000 a year.