I have often been critical of the Taxpayer’s Alliance for knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing and I am not about to retract that judgement now. However, their latest offering listing 51 high-flying Council executives taking home more than £100,000 a year does give pause for thought.
We are of course in a free market. These sort of jobs may be sought-after but to get good quality you have to pay the going-rate. Nevertheless, there are legitimate questions as to why two medium-sized Councils in Welsh terms, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, are paying their Chief Executuve more than that taken home by the bosses of Swansea and Rhonnda Cynon Taf, the second and third largest Councils. Although all 22 Councils are slimming down their top management these are still hefty wage bills.
I am not one of these who argue that local government reorganisation will produce huge savings, experience has shown that any sort of structural re-ordering does not tend to deliver in that way. However, the argument that we should be having fewer and bigger Councils doing more and having greater powers and responsibilities is certainly enhanced by this story.
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