CHESHIRE East Council says its senior managers are providing value for money after a watchdog report shone a light on £100,000-plus local authority salaries.

The TaxPayers' Alliance published its list – the so-called Town Hall Rich List - of top-end pay at local councils across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland this week.

It showed that four Cheshire East staff with named titles received £100,000 plus salaries, including the chief executive of the borough council, Lorraine O'Donnell, who was paid £155,175 in the 2020/21 financial year.

The chief executive's remuneration was also swelled by a £52,604 pension benefit to take her total package over £200,000 (£207,779).

The council's former executive director of place Frank Jordan was paid a salary of £146,834 and a pension of £49,834 saw his package rise to £196,668.

But the duo's remuneration was dwarfed by a single salary payment of £237,000 made to an undisclosed senior member of staff.

The council says this is a redundancy payment to a senior officer which also includes 'pension strain costs' and pay-in-lieu of notice.

Under the Local Government Pension Scheme, staff over 55 are entitled to the early release of their pension, without any reduction, if made redundant.

Two other members of staff were paid in the region of £119,000, which with pension benefits rose to around £160,000.

The authority's director of finance and customers services and director of public health were paid £89,367 and £88,985 respectively, both rising to the £119,000 mark with pension benefits.

In contrast, neighbouring Cheshire West and Chester Council had 16 senior staff members on £100,000 plus salaries.

Cheshire East Council says that as a result of restructuring the roles of senior managers have been widened so as they take on board additional responsibilities.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The figures quoted by the TaxPayers' Alliance are a combination of salary, expenses and pension benefits. Very few staff receive a salary of £100,000 or more.

"Cheshire East Council, along with other authorities, pays the necessary market rate to attract the right people with the required skills and experience.

"Following a number of restructures, senior managers have also taken on much wider responsibilities, while continuing to deliver frontline services and value for money for residents."

Across the UK the number of council officials receiving more than £100,000 salaries went up by 119 to 2,921 during the pandemic, with 739 of those getting more than £150,000.

Westminster Council had the greatest number of employees (44) with remuneration in excess of £100,000.