Kent Council to reveal top earners salaries

2.32.23pm GMT Wed 23rd Dec 2009

Kent Liberal Democrats Finance Spokesman Tim Prater has welcomed new moves by the Government to require Councils to publish details of their top earners salaries.

The rules compelling local authorities to disclose the salary packages of top earners have been set into law by Communities Secretary John Denham. Local authority bodies will now legally be required to publish pay information covering salary, bonuses, pensions, perks and severance pay outs in their next annual statement of accounts.

The rules include a requirement for councils to publish named individuals earning more than £150,000 in £5,000 bands. The new regulations, laid in Parliament, put councils at the high transparency standards the Prime Minister set recently for public servants and members of government. It also extends them to senior police officers.

County Councillor Tim Prater commented:

"Kent residents have the right to know what the highest earning KCC staff are receiving. It's been claimed that Kent has the highest paid Chief Executive in the Country, Now that Peter Gilroy is moving on and a new Chief Executive will be appointed, Kent should be open and upfront on what its top officers - and especially its Chief Executive - are paid including bonuses."