Town Hall Rich List reveals 12 Sunderland City Council bosses paid more than £100,000

A dozen Sunderland council chiefs have made the ‘Town Hall Rich List’ for earning more than £100,000.

Three of the Sunderland City Council officers listed earned more than £150,000 - including the chief executive, Patrick Melia, the highest paid, whose £196,399 remuneration was more than the salary of the UK Prime Minister.

Peter McIntyre, executive director of City Development, is the only other individual named, earning £155,351.

Earnings for the 12 senior posts detailed in the ‘rich list’ for Sunderland range from £102,500, but the roles and those who hold them are mostly ‘undisclosed’.

Of the posts detailed, the director of Children's Services (presently Jill Colbert*) earned £144,392; the executive director of Health, Housing and Communities (presently Gerry Taylor*) earned £144,392; and the director of Adult Services (presently Graham King*) earned £115,577.

(*Names of the post-holders, according the the Sunderland City Council website).

The figures in the ‘rich list’ were for the 2022-2023 financial year, and were published the week after a 4.99% council tax rise came into force in Sunderland.

Sunderland City Council said the local authority provides services for thousands of people, with pay for senior officers therefore reflecting the ‘major social and legal responsibilities’ they shoulder.

The Local Government Association has also pointed out councils are ‘large, complex organisations with sizeable budgets’ and it is important the right people are in the job, with appropriate pay to retain them.

However, the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which draws up the Town Hall Rich List annually using information requests from councils, believes pay should be reduced to keep more money in household budgets, particularly given the cost-of-living crisis.

The campaign group said number of UK council officers earning more than £100,000 in 2022-23 stood at 3,106, the highest level since the 2015 edition of the list and the second-highest on record.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance said despite consistent calls about stretched budgets and struggling services, there has been a ‘surge in the number of senior officials receiving six-figure remuneration packages at the same time that councils have seen boosts in revenues through council tax rises and increased funding from central government’.

The alliance is calling on councils to ensure value for money for residents by freezing council tax.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "The new financial year has seen council tax soar across the country, and taxpayers will notice that top brass pay has simultaneously surged. "Local authorities provide crucial services and residents will want to make sure they are getting bang for their buck with their ever-increasing bills. “Residents can use these figures to ask whether precious funds are really going towards frontline services, or whether town hall bosses can get better value for money.”

In a statement in response, Sunderland City Council said: “We are continuing to deliver crucial services during the cost of living crisis, including services to thousands of vulnerable adults and children, and are delivering hundreds of millions of pounds of investment that is making Sunderland a more dynamic, healthy, vibrant and smart city. “This work involves major social and legal responsibilities and remuneration to senior staff can reflect this.”

A spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: “Councils are large, complex organisations with sizeable budgets.

“It is important that the right people with the right skills and experience are retained to deliver this important work.

“Senior pay is always decided by democratically elected councillors in an open and transparent way.”