Almost 2,500 council executives received pay packages worth more than £100,000 last year, according to a report by campaigners calling for lower taxes.

Slough Borough Council topped the Taxpayers' Alliance (TPA) Town Hall Rich List, with interim chief executive Robert Parkin getting a payment of £595,077 before leaving his position in December 2017.

Wirral and Birmingham councils came second and third respectively in the top 20 of the "highest remunerated" bosses in 2017-18.

Chief executive of the TPA, John O'Connell, said it showed "staggering payouts" were being made at a time when council tax was still rising.

He said: "The average council tax bill has gone up by more than £900 over the last 20 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 payouts 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."

But local authorities have defended the packages, claiming salary was only part of the total, which also included redundancy and pension payments.

TPA figures showed 2,454 council employees had pay packages higher than £100,000 in 2017-18 and 608 council employees earned more than £150,000.

A total of 28 council employees received deals higher than £250,000 in 2017-18.

A Slough Borough Council spokeswoman said individual cases were confidential, but stressed that the figures were being "presented completely out of context".

She said: "These figures don't just involve almost a full year's salary, but also pension contributions and redundancy payments, all of which, in Slough's case, are only what is contractually and statutorily mandated."

The Taxpayers' Alliance Town Hall Rich List 2019:

1. Slough

2. Wirral

3. Birmingham

4. Bath and North East Somerset

5. Northumberland

6. Darlington

7. Blaenau Gwent

8. Stoke-On-Trent

9. West Lancashire

10. South Oxfordshire/Vale of White Horse

11. Folkestone and Hythe

12. Perth and Kinross

13. South Ribble

14. Perth and Kinross

15. Wandsworth/Richmond

16. Kent

17. Ceredigion

18. Aberdeen

19. Northamptonshire

20. North Lanarkshire