Glasgow City Council tops UK poll of highest local authority salaries

Wage: Glasgow City Council had 25 staff earning more than £100,000.© STV

A Scottish council employee received the highest financial package in the UK last year, according to a study.

Ian Drummond, who was executive director of special projects for Glasgow City Council, topped the list for 2010-11 at £450,628, which includes pension contributions worth £199,073.

However, the man in second place - Kent chief executive Peter Gilroy - followed closely behind on finances calculated only to May 2010.

The list was drawn up by the Taxpayers' Alliance in a report into each local authority in the UK.

It found at least 3097 council employees received total remuneration in excess of £100,000 in 2010-11, a 13% increase on the previous year's 2696.

George Black, chief executive of Glasgow City Council, was named as the highest-paid local authority employee in Scotland, earning £217,419, the same as in the previous year.

The council, which is the largest in Scotland, also had 25 staff earning more than £100,000 that year.

Glasgow was the only Scottish authority in the top 20 largest remuneration packages, with four entries, all including redundancy payments. No Scottish authority was in the top 20 for pay excluding redundancy.

A council spokesman said: "With local government facing unprecedented cuts, we simply cannot sustain the number of staff we once had.

"If the Taxpayers' Alliance was genuinely interested in public finances, it would realise that these are not simply normal salary costs, they include a redundancy deal that will save the public purse £45m every single year.

"The alternative is brutal cuts to frontline services. That's the choice."

Around 2600 staff from the total workforce of 18,000 - excluding teachers - agreed to leave the authority over three years.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "As millions of voters across the country prepare for local council elections, it is vital that they can make an informed choice about which local authorities are delivering value for money.

"The Town Hall Rich List shows that while councils insist cuts can only mean pressure on frontline services, some clearly have cash in the bank when it comes to paying their own senior staff."

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