COUNCIL leaders across the conurbation have defended the pay packages of senior officers.

Across Dorset 47 members of staff at local authorities received more than £100,000 in remuneration through salaries and pension contributions in 2016/17.

Senior councillors told the Daily Echo that top officers have “immense” responsibilities and their pay is justified.

Cllr John Beesley, leader of Bournemouth Borough Council, said the officers roles and salaries are evaluated and considered in line with the current labour market to attract and retain the right individuals. He added that staff are paid appropriately for the level of work they undertake.

Nine officers at Bournemouth Borough Council were listed on the report by the Taxpayers’ Alliance, although five of these were in unnamed job roles.

Cllr John Beesley, leader of the council, said: “Senior Officer salaries reflect the wide breadth of statutory responsibilities undertaken to ensure the safe and effective operation of hundreds of council services delivered to almost 200,000 residents, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

“This includes being accountable for the safeguarding of Bournemouth’s young people, adults and their families, the provision of housing and emergency response to our residents and ensuring that the council operates with integrity around its governance arrangements and financial decisions.

During the 2016/17 chief executives and strategic directors at Bournemouth and Poole received a cost of living pay award of one per cent. The councils said no other increases or incremental progression was given. Borough of Poole also paid nine officers more than £100,000.

The authority’s leader Cllr Janet Walton said: “We are constantly trying to achieve the balance of attracting the best quality staff to Borough of Poole, as well as providing value for money for residents.

“We have carried out a number of management restructures over the years, with our aim to create a tighter, more cost effective team. ”

Bournemouth Council are also contesting a figure of £512k, saying it is not one they recognise or identify.

Four officers from Christchurch and East Dorset Councils partnership received more than £100,000 in 2016/17, including strategic director Ian Milner.

He said: “Christchurch Borough Council and East Dorset District Council created a single management team some years ago with the costs shared equally by both councils.

“This enabled a number of posts to be deleted at the time and this approach continues, with two further senior management posts being deleted in the last year.

“The approach of senior officers working for both councils has saved over £3 million to date with ongoing savings of almost £600,000 per annum.”

Dorset County Council had twenty members of staff that were paid more than £100,000 in 2016/17 - placing the council in the top 20 for the number of highest paid officers in the country.

However, the authority has contested this number. Cllr Peter Warf, cabinet member for workforce at Dorset County Council, said: “All our staff provide essential public services to Dorset’s residents and are valued as our biggest asset. Through ensuring our staff work effectively, we are confident local people get value for money and we are committed to being open and honest about our pay details.

“The numbers quoted by the TaxPayers' Alliance are confusing in that they have included pension contributions, making the salaries appear higher than they actually are. In addition to the employer’s contribution to their pension, each employee also pays a further amount of their own money into the pension scheme. Unfortunately the way the TaxPayers' Alliance have presented their data, incorrectly inflates our staff’s pay.

“Added to this, Dorset County Council currently has jointly funded partnership arrangements with many other authorities which is why the numbers may appear higher. We always try to share senior posts where we can with other bodies, and ensure that the people in those posts work hard for us and our residents. Even taking these things into account, we do not recognise the figure of 20 as quoted by the TaxPayers' Alliance.

"We believe a more accurate figure would be 17, however, this includes four head teachers of local maintained schools who are not direct employees of DCC. In true terms, therefore our actual figure would be 13 members of staff with a total remuneration package of £100k or more, as described by the TaxPayers' Alliance.

“We monitor what we pay in comparison to other councils to ensure our pay levels are competitive. Dorset’s pay is fairly typical for south west England, and is generally below those of councils in the south east and other large metropolitan areas across the country.”

  • Yesterday’s front page on top earners featured a picture of John Rice, Poole’s chief engineer. He does not earn over £100,000 a year. We are happy to clarify this.