Nine council chiefs who earned a basic salary of more than £105,000 have featured on a Town Hall ‘rich list’.

Pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance has published the list.

The key findings include that at least 2,921 people employed by local authorities in 2020-21 received more than £100,000 in total remuneration, an increase of 119 on 2019-20.

Meanwhile, 739 received more than £150,000, 46 more than the previous year.

Total remuneration includes, but is not limited to, salary, benefits in kind, expenses, bonuses, any stated election duty fees, redundancy payments and employer’s pension contributions.

'Nine in St Helens on more than £105,000'

The Town Hall ‘rich list’ includes 11 St Helens Council officers. These are paid employees and not elected politicians.

Nine of these received a basic salary of more than £105,000.

The list states that in, 2020-21, council chief executive Kath O’Dwyer had a salary of £161,000, but when pension contributions were added in her payment totalled £188,000.

St Helens Star: Kath O’Dwyer Kath O’Dwyer

The executive director of corporate services had a salary of £120,000 but when pension contributions were added in their payment totalled £140,000.

The executive director of place services had a salary of £106,000, but when pension contributions were added in their payment totalled £124,000.

The director of adult services had a salary of £98,000, but when pension contributions were added in their payment totalled £115,000.

The assistant chief executive has a salary of £91,000 but when pension contributions were added in their payment totalled £106,000.

The council’s executive director of corporate services is Cath Fogarty, the executive director of place services is Lisa Harris, the director of adult services is Rachel Cleal, and the assistant chief executive is Rob Huntington

There are six officers listed as "undisclosed" on the list – the council says these posts refer to non-senior employee staff.

The first one had a salary and total payment of £182,500, the second one had a salary and total of £182,500, the third one had a salary and total of £157,500, the fourth one had a salary and total of £132,500, the fifth one had a salary and total of £127,500, and the sixth one had a salary and total of £107,500.

The council has confirmed the information published by the TaxPayers’ Alliance but says it is "important to make a distinction clearly" between salary and remuneration packages "as there is a differential between the two".

St Helens Council has largely rebuilt its top administrative team over the past two and a half years after a Local Government Association review in 2018 identified how it had gone through a period of “turmoil”.

“A long period of consistency had given way to a period of extreme political and considerable administrative volatility, with some blurring of political and administrative boundaries,” the report said.

Since her appointment, Ms O’Dwyer, an experienced chief executive, is credited with bringing a steady hand and rebuilding a senior team that has guided the council through a period of transformation.

The situation with six-figure salaries is mirrored at neighbouring councils.

Nine Warrington Borough Council officers were on the list published by the Taxpayers Alliance.

Five of these received a basic salary of more than £100,000.