Further increases to council bosses' salaries on the horizon despite record council tax increase

Residents across Scotland have seen council tax hikes of up to 15.6 per cent - but Cosla is still to negotiate 2025 pay rates for council bosses.

Increases to council bosses’ salaries have not been ruled out for 2025, despite record council tax rises of up to 15.6 per cent.

Council chief executives are raking in huge salaries, with the biggest pay packet coming in at £209,472 for Glasgow’s Annemarie O’Donnell - Glasgow residents have just been hit with a 7.5 per cent council tax increase.

Chief executives’ salaries for 2025/26 have not yet been set, but Cosla, the umbrella body for Scotland’s 32 local authorities, says it is “appropriate” to review their salaries to reflect the “invaluable” work they do.

Council tax levels have been set for the year ahead

However, Cosla says any increases to council tax are separate to the ongoing pay negotiations for senior local government bosses.

According to the Taxpayers’ Alliance, the next highest chief executive salary after Glasgow in 2024 was £200,617 for Edinburgh’s Andrew Kerr, plus £1,849 in expenses. Mr Kerr left the post last summer.

This is followed by:

• Ken Gourlay at Fife Council on £196,712 where there has been an 8.2 per cent council tax increase
• Desmond Murray at North Lanarkshire Council on £196,136 (plus a £438 election payment) where there has been a 10 per cent council tax increase
• Derek Brown at Highland Council on £184,000 where there has been a 7 per cent council tax hike
• Angela Scott at Aberdeen City Council on £179,754 where there has been a 9.85 per cent council tax increase
• Jim Savege at Aberdeenshire Council on £169,944 where there has been a 10 per cent council tax increase.

Falkirk Council saw the biggest council tax increase of 15.6 per cent.

Its chief executive Kenneth Lawrie received a pay packet of £166,528 in 2024, higher than the £160,741 reported by the Taxpayers’ Alliance.

The salaries for council chief executives are set nationally, and Cosla is still negotiating rates for the 2025/26 financial year.

A spokesperson for Cosla told The Scotsman: “No decision has been made about chief executive pay.

“As the lead officers of their councils, chief executives play an invaluable role in ensuring councils can deliver essential services to our communities every day.

“As with any role, it is appropriate employment practice to review salaries periodically.”

The spokesperson said the remuneration framework for local authority chief executives has not been reviewed since 2001, and since then the role and statutory duties of council bosses have “changed significantly”.

They added: “The relative sizes of councils by population, which is a key underlying metric of the pay framework, have also changed significantly.

“Meanwhile, other council employees have seen adjustments to their salaries.

“For example, the teaching workforce had a pay adjustment in 2005 with the implementation of the McCrone agreement with a further intervention on main grade pay in 2019.”

Cosla said council tax increases “were necessary” to ensure local services continue to offer residents “a good level of service”, adding: “There is always a challenge for local governments to strike a balance between managing budgets and pay increases at all levels, and we are constantly working at getting this balance right to achieve the best possible outcomes for both employees and communities.”

John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s a record breaking year in many respects for taxpayers as the country hurtles towards a record tax burden, all while the public sector continues to feather its nest.

“As our latest town hall rich list demonstrates, the number of council staff with six-figure remuneration packages has surged at the same time that services are being slashed and council tax is being hiked above inflation - with this problem particularly severe in parts of Scotland like Falkirk.

“Local residents can look up their own authority in our list and judge the quality of services and their council tax bill against the pay packets of their council bosses.”