A NUMBER of council workers in Worcestershire were paid more than £100,000 last year.

Seven of these people were employed by Worcestershire County Council, while the rest worked for Worcester City Council, Wychavon District Council or Malvern Hills District Council.

The TaxPayers' Alliance said David Blake, managing director of Worcester City Council, was paid £105,196 in 2017/18.

The group added that Worcestershire County Council paid John Hobbs, director of economy and infrastructure, £141,264, Catherine Driscoll, director of children, families and communities, £141,510, Avril Wilson, director of adult services, £125,628, Steve Stewart, interim chief executive, who passed away last year, £126,646.

The county council also paid two other managers, whose names and positions were not disclosed, £122,500 and £112,500.

Jack Hegarty, the joint chief executive of Wychavon District Council and Malvern Hills District Council, received a £129,523 salary.

Frances Howie, director for public health for Worcestershire County Council, Vic Allison, deputy managing director for Wychavon District Council, and Andy Baldwin, deputy chief of Malvern Hills District Council, were all paid under £100,000.

However, the amount they all received went over £100,000 when pension contributions and other payments were included.

The joint head of policy, democratic and customer services at Wychavon District Council had a £49,750 salary, however they also received £54,000 in compensation, taking them over the £100,000 threshold.

Wychavon District Council declined to provide the manager's name and said it no longer had a joint head of policy, democratic and customer services.

A Worcester City Council spokesman said: “The salary of Worcester City Council's managing director is reviewed and approved each year by elected councillors as part of the annual budget process.

“We undertook a benchmarking exercise in 2018 which showed that the managing director’s salary level is on a comparable level with other similar sized councils, and lower than many.”

Richard Taylor, head of human relations at Worcestershire County Council said: "We publish our approach to the payment of our workforce via the pay police statement which is required by the Localism Act and which was approved by councillors in February.

“We are committed to being open and transparent about pay. Information on chief officer remuneration is available within our annual statement of accounts on our website."

However, John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “The average council tax bill has gone up by more than £900 over the last twenty years and spending has gone through the roof.

"Disappointingly, many local authorities are now responding to financial reality through further tax rises and reducing services rather than scaling back top pay.

"Despite many in the public sector facing a much-needed pay freeze to help bring the public finances under control, many town hall bosses are continuing to pocket huge remuneration packages, with staggering pay-outs for those leaving their jobs.

"There are talented people in the public sector who are trying to deliver more for less, but the sheer scale of these packages raise serious questions about efficiency and priorities."

Wychavon District Council and Malvern Hills District Council were unavailable for comment.