Revealed: More than 50 council employees in the Black Country and Staffordshire paid more than £100,000 last year
More than 50 council employees in the Black Country and Staffordshire were paid more than £100,000 last year – with several receiving higher annual salaries than the prime minister.
The latest edition of the Taxpayers’ Alliance Town Hall Rich List revealed 52 workers in the region were on a salary of more than £100,000 in the 2022/23 financial year.
According to the list, the highest earner at a council in the region was John Henderson, who was chief executive of Staffordshire County Council for around eight years, and was paid a salary of £243,313.
He joined the council in May 2015 and as head of the paid service led the organisation through the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was more than Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who had a salary entitlement of £164,951 in 2022-23 according to Taxpayers’ Alliance.
Mr Henderson was among 14 employees at Staffordshire County Council who were paid an annual salary of more than £100,000.
The next highest paid employee was Dr Richard Harling, director of health and care, who was paid £173,027, followed by the director of corporate services who was on £155,878 and the director of economy, infrastructure and skills on £150,942.
A spokesperson for Staffordshire County Council said: “The figures represented each year by the Taxpayers' Alliance are inflated to include payments such as pension contributions and do not reflect the actual salaries to senior staff.
“As a county council serving nearly 900,000 residents, with an annual turnover of more than £1.4 billion, it is important that we can attract and retain the very best staff.
"The remuneration paid to our senior managers, which is in line with many other large local authorities, is repaid many times over in terms of the contribution they make to the council and whole county every day.”
