Town hall transparency

Hundreds of top-earning town hall bosses will have their salaries published next year under new rules introduced today by Local Government Secretary John Denham.

Councils will be forced to name officials — mainly chief executives — earning more than £150,000 and give a strong indication of their total package.

They will also have to say how many earn more than £50,000 a year.

The move comes amid concerns about the generous pay rises town hall chiefs have secured for themselves while lower earners have endured much tighter settlements.

Gordon Brown last week pledged to curb a “culture of excess” in senior public sector pay and bonuses, warning that many salaries above £150,000 would in future require ministerial approval.

Mr Denham will today move to ensure that local government is one of the first areas to demonstrate greater transparency on pay. He will lay new regulations in Parliament requiring about 475 local authorities to publish pay information covering salary, bonuses, pensions, perks and severance in their next annual statement of accounts at the end of March.

About 300 individuals earning more than £150,000 will be named and their salaries published to the closest £5,000 band. The scheme will also apply to police chiefs ranked above superintendent.

Attempts to curb public sector pay come as the Prime Minister seeks to save billions of pounds from the costs of Government to help reduce the country’s massive deficit.