Hampshire County Council chief executive set to earn £258,000 a year - £84,000 more than Prime Minister

Hampshire County Council’s chief executive is set to earn more than £80,000 than the Prime Minister is paid from next year.

The authority’s employment committee has backed changes to the council’s pay policy which would increase the chief executive’s salary from £250,000 to £258,252 from April 2027.

That would be £84,213 more than the £174,039 paid to the Prime Minister, according to council and government figures.

The increase is included in the authority’s draft pay policy statement for 2027/28, which was approved by the employment committee on October 23, and will go before full council in February.

If signed off, the new salary would take effect from April 2027.

The annual pay policy statement sets out how the council pays its staff, including senior officers. Local authorities are required to publish the document each year.

The proposed chief executive salary would also remain more than 10 times higher than the council’s lowest salary, which is listed in the report as £25,025 a year.

The pay statement shows other senior officers are paid significantly less. Executive lead officers are listed on salaries ranging from £123,231 to £171,995, while chief officers receive between £91,669 and £140,535.

Currently, the chief executive of the county council is Gary Westbrook.