ConservativeHome carried an article yesterday morning highlighting the salaries of senior staff at the Local Government Group (LGG), an umbrella organisation that comprises the Local Government Association, the Local Government Improvement and Development, Local Government Employers, Local Government Regulation, Local Government Leadership and Local Partnerships. The article links to the salaries of 60 LGG employees, ranging from £40,000 right up to £209,999. There are 15 employees who take home salaries over £100,000, 32 between £80,000 and £99,999 and 13 between £45,000 and £74,999.
Top of the tree is Rob Whiteman, Managing Director of the Improvement and Development wing of the LGG, who receives a salary of between £205,000 and £209,499. The highest earner in the Local Government Association (LGA) in the Deputy Chief Executive, Jo Miller on £175,000-£179,999. Just behind her is the Group Finance Director, Stephen Jones, on £155,000-£159,999. The Chief Executive of the LGA John Ransford can be found slightly further down the list in receipt of the fifth salary bracket of £90,000-£94,999. This is of course following his honourable decision last year to take a severely reduced pay packet in his remaining few months in the job.
Each individual division of the LGG employs a similar number to a large council, but there are huge differences between the LGG and a council. For starters, councils are the main provider of local services. They manage street cleaning, rubbish collections, maintenance of public spaces, social services provision, housing needs, and schools. Many councils themselves have too big a corporate structure and pay their executives too much taxpayers’ money, and it’s even worse that the LGG and LGA mimic such profligacy. Would residents really notice if these trade associations ceased to exist?
LGA subscriptions are easy savings for councils. Taxpayers will be angry to see they are not only paying huge salaries to the executives in their own authorities, but are also contributing to hefty salaries handed out to employees of the Local Government Group too.