The number of council employees earning more than £100,000 is revealed
The number of council employees earning more than £100,000 is revealed
The number of council employees across Hampshire earning more than £100,000 a year has been revealed.
According to the Taxpayers’ Alliance report, Hampshire County Council had 66 staff members earning more than £100,000, although the local authority’s own statement of accounts had the figure at 58 employees.
The highest paid staff member was former chief executive Carolyn Williamson, whose renumeration of £297,229 was the 13th largest financial package in the UK.
At Portsmouth City Council there were 23 members of staff were above the six figure threshold including chief executive Natalie Brahma-Pearl, with Southampton City Council having 13 employees over that benchmark.
A Hampshire County Council spokeswoman said: “Employing approximately 10,000 people directly, as well as supporting many more roles indirectly, the county council is among the largest public sector employers in the country.
“It serves 1.4 million residents and manages annual expenditure of £3.3 billion to deliver a broad range of complex and vital public services.
“It should also be recognised that a number of the council’s most senior posts extend beyond Hampshire County Council alone, with responsibility for providing and overseeing services on behalf of other local authorities and public sector partners across the country.
“Moreover, we are the administering authority for the Hampshire Pension Fund which serves over 402 employers in Hampshire, with a value of over £10 billion.
“County council rates of pay are competitive in order to recruit, retain and motivate the best people, and to deliver value for money for the taxpayer – never has it been more important to ensure we have the right skills and expertise in place to help steer the local authority through the ongoing very challenging times for local government.”
District and borough councils also had staff with six-figure salaries, with three at Eastleigh, four at New Forest, 10 at Test Valley, six at Fareham, six at Winchester, two at Gosport and nine at East Hampshire.
An Eastleigh Borough Council spokesperson said: “ Pay levels are benchmarked against similar authorities and reflect the scale and specialist nature of these roles, which carry responsibility for leading complex services and supporting delivery for around 140,000 residents across the borough.”
The councils said salaries for senior staff are published on their websites in line with transparency regulations.
A Gosport Borough Council spokesperson said: “Senior officers pay reflects the responsibilities and experience required for these roles and supports the Councils need to recruit and retain appropriately skilled staff.”
Across the UK the number of local authority employees receiving more than £100,000 in 2024/25 stood at 4,733, the highest level since the Taxpayers’ Alliance first published its data report in 2007 and 827 more than the previous year.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers are caught in a pincer movement with a record-breaking tax burden on one side and a bloated public sector feathering its nest on the other.
“Our latest Town Hall Rich List exposes a surging class of council bosses enjoying six-figure packages, even as they plead poverty, slash frontline services, and hike council tax bills far beyond inflation.
“Residents can see exactly how many local bureaucrats are receiving plush packages and judge for themselves whether they’re getting value for money.”
Portsmouth City Council has been asked for a comment.