£1.1m cost of Blackpool Council's top earners revealed as council tax bills go up

The total bill for Blackpool Council's top earners has crept up by almost £37,000 with nine town hall chief officers continuing to earn more than £100,000.
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Neil Jack, chief executive of Blackpool which is a unitary authority, has seen his annual remuneration, including pension benefits, increase to almost £170,000 in 2020/21 compared to just over £158,000 in 2019/20.

The next highest earner is director of public health Dr Arif Rajpura, with a total package of almost £136,000, including pension benefits.

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The latest figures, which are set out in the council's accounts for the period up to March 31 2021, reveal a total cost of just over £1.1m for the nine top earners, up from around £1.07m the previous year.

Blackpool Town Hall on Talbot RoadBlackpool Town Hall on Talbot Road
Blackpool Town Hall on Talbot Road

It comes as Blackpool residents face a 2.99 per cent rise in their council tax, with average band D bills set to increase by £66 to £2,063 in April.

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Blackpool council tax bandings revealed

A council spokesperson said it was "essential" to have salaries which attracted the right people to run public services in Blackpool.

The spokesperson added: “The detail of salaries which are in excess of £50,000 can be found on our website and have been accessible there for many years.

Chief executive of Blackpool Council, Neil JackChief executive of Blackpool Council, Neil Jack
Chief executive of Blackpool Council, Neil Jack
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"Salaries are set at appropriate market levels and are necessary to attract and retain the right staff.

“It is essential now more than ever that we have staff who can run our services effectively ensuring our residents are looked after, supported and accessing the help they need”.

Figures compiled by pressure group The Taxpayers Alliance also show an 'undisclosed' salary on Blackpool's pay roll of £122,500 which is the Coroner's pay, but while he is a council employee, he is not a chief officer.

Click here to see how many employees received £100,000 or more in total remuneration in 2020-21.

Neighbouring district councils Fylde and Wyre only pay their chief executives more than £100,000.

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Allan Oldfield of Fylde earned a total package, including pension benefits of £123,000 in 2020/21 (up from £117,000), while Wyre Council's chief executive Garry Payne took home a total package of £129,000 (up from £123,000).

The Taxpayers Alliance, which has compiled its annual 'Town Hall Rich List' for 15 years, says its research shows 2,921 council workers nationally earning more than £100,000 - up by 119 on the previous year.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Taxpayers facing a cost of living crisis want to know they are getting value for money from their local authority leadership.

“These figures will allow residents to judge town hall bosses for themselves and hold their local councils to account.”

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