Scots council chiefs with six figure salaries on the rise

The number of Scottish council bosses who are earning more than £100,000 per year is on the rise.

61 council officials were paid more than £150,000 in 2015/16. Picture: TSPL

New figures show the number of council chiefs in Scotland with six figure salaries has risen by more than 12 per cent in a year, from 203 to 228.

61 council officials were paid more than £150,000 in the 2015/16 financial year - the same as Prime Minister Theresa May.

According to the Scottish Daily Mail, one North Lanarkshire council employee was handed £486,000 - which included a £338,000 pay off.

Alistair Crichton - the council’s former chief executive of finance and customer service was handed the ‘golden goodbye’ when he left the local authority.

Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont: “Over the years, millions of pounds in public money has been given to those receiving excessive payouts. It’s staggering to see individuals on the public payroll qualifying for insanely large golden goodbyes. People will be hoping they will soon be a thing of the past.”

John O’Connell, chief executive of Taxpayers’ Alliance added: Taxpayers struggling with rising bills will find it very difficult to stomach that the number of people taking in over £100,000 went up by 25 between 2014-15 and 2015-16 in Scotland.

“When top pay goes up while services are reduced, legitimate questions can be raised about a council’s priorities.”

A Spokesman from North Lanarkshire Council said it would not discuss individual cases.