Sheffield Council: Top local authority figures earning more than the Prime Minister, figures show

Sheffield City Council’s top earning staff are taking home higher salaries than the Prime Minister, according to figures from the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

Two council bosses reportedly took home more than £200,000 in the 2022-23 financial year, more than the £164,000 salary which could have been claimed over the same period by Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.

Those two people are CEO Kate Josephs and former executive director Eugene Walker.

The pair both received total pay packets of over £225,000 during a year where Ms Josephs spent time on paid leave as she was investigated for her involvement in Partygate, whilst Mr Walker was briefly promoted to Acting CEO.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA), said: "The new financial year has seen council tax soar across the country, and taxpayers will notice that top brass pay has simultaneously surged.

"Local authorities provide crucial services and residents will want to make sure they are getting bang for their buck with their ever-increasing bills.

“Residents can use these figures to ask whether precious funds are really going towards frontline services, or whether town hall bosses can get better value for money.”

TPA figures were obtained directly from local authorities with the group predicting that at least 3,106 people employed in local authorities in 2022-23 received total renumeration of more than £100,000.

Who are the highest earners at Sheffield City Council?

In total, 11 people employed at Sheffield council in 2022-23 earned more than £100,000 in salary. Thirteen members of staff received total renumeration of more than £100,000 - after the local authority’s pension contributions are added to the total.

The highest overall earner was Kate Josephs. According to the TPA figures, Ms Josephs earned £202,391 in salary, with a £38,454 pension contribution bringing the total to £240,846.

Her salary alone is equivalent to £103.79 per hour, when set to a 37.5 hour working week.

She was closely followed by former executive director, Eugene Walker, who started the 2022-23 period as Acting CEO, whilst Ms Josephs was on paid leave as the council investigated her involvement in Partygate. His salary reportedly stood at £211,367 - a £16,845 pension contribution brought Mr Walker’s total renumeration for 2022-23 to £228,212.

Ajman Ali, executive director for operational services, and Kate Martin, executive director for city futures, were the only other members of council staff named in the data. They earned £183,447 (£154,158 in salary) and £182,402 (£153,279 in salary) respectively.

Whilst unnamed in the figures, Sheffield’s director of public health, known widely to be Greg Fell, received a total renumeration of £149,094 - including £130,495 in salary. He was the only one of the 13 to get expenses or benefits in kind to the tune of £34.

The strategic director for adults social care and wellbeing, who was also unnamed but is known to be Alexis Chappell, reportedly took home a salary of £111,139, along with £21,116 for her pension - generating a total renumeration of £132,255.

The total renumeration for the 13 biggest earners in the council was £1,907,097.

In light of the well-documented financial problems facing local authorities, The Star asked Sheffield City Council if it was concerned about going bankrupt in the current financial year and if pay freezes were being considered for senior staff and the workforce as a whole in upcoming pay reviews - no response has been provided.

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How does this compare to Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and others?

The chief executive’s salary in Sheffield is higher than any other city in Yorkshire and The Humber and also higher than Leeds (£191,870pa), Newcastle (£201,707pa) and Liverpool’s (£154,167pa) top staff.

Manchester City Council’s chief executive, Joanne Roney, earns one of the highest council salaries in the North of England at £213,509.

In total, fewer staff at Sheffield council earn over £100,000 in salary compared to these other cities. The 11 salaries over £100,000 in Sheffield are dwarfed by the 25 in Liverpool and 24 each in Leeds and Manchester. Only 10 staff earn over £100,000 per year as a salary in Newcastle.