Edinburgh council employees on more than £100,000 revealed in town hall rich list

Taxpayers Alliance annual ‘Town Hall Rich List’ shows Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams paying among top ten bonuses
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Edinburgh has been named as the local authority with the most council-sector employees paid over £100,000 in Scotland. The league table, drawn up by the Taxpayers Alliance, shows the Capital with 23 senior managers receiving remuneration over that figure in 2021-2022 – though the table covers those employed by arms-length organisations like Edinburgh Trams and Lothian Buses as well as direct council employees.

And it names former Lothian Buses interim managing director Nigel Serafini and Edinburgh Trams boss Lea Harrison as among those receiving the top ten highest bonuses across the UK. Mr Searfini ranked third with a bonus of £26,100 and Mr Harrison was fifth on £16,000.

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In its annual "Town Hall Rich List", the Taxpayers Alliance said at least 2,759 employees working for UK authorities received more than £100,000 in total remuneration, including 721 who received £150,000 or more. But it also noted there had been a significant increase in the number of local authorities failing to publish their annual statement of accounts for 2021-22, which gives the relevant information.

Edinburgh Trams boss Lea Harrison and former Lothian Buses interim managing director Nigel Serafini made among the highest bonuses in the UKEdinburgh Trams boss Lea Harrison and former Lothian Buses interim managing director Nigel Serafini made among the highest bonuses in the UK
Edinburgh Trams boss Lea Harrison and former Lothian Buses interim managing director Nigel Serafini made among the highest bonuses in the UK

According to the figures in the report, the Edinburgh council-sector employee with the biggest remuneration package in 2021-22 was the council’s director of place Paul Lawrence, whose £162,247 salary was topped up by a pension worth £36,830 to give a grand total of £199,077. That put him ahead of Mr Harrison whose salary of £175,441 plus bonus added up to a remuneration package of £191,441, and Mr Serafini who had a salary of £158,250, his bonus and £2,300 of other benefits, giving a total package of £186,650.

In fourth place was council chief executive Andrew Kerr with a salary of £180,364 and no other listed benefits. Marshall Dallas, chief executive of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, was paid £157,326, all as salary. And George Lowder, chief executive of Transport for Edinburgh received £154,225 which included £152,540 in salary and £1,685 in other benefits.

The UK council employee with the biggest remuneration was the managing director of Guildford council in Surrey, who received £607,633. And the council which paid the biggest bonus was Newcastle upon Tyne council, who gave their director of public health a £36,192 bonus.

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John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers facing record council tax rises want to be sure they are getting value for money from their local authority leadership. Many authorities continue with extremely generous pay and perks, including bonuses and golden goodbyes, while local people are facing a financial squeeze. Residents can use these figures to hold their local town hall bosses to account.”

Jim McFarlane, chair of Lothian Buses, said: “Lothian operate as a stand-alone commercial business, carrying over 2 million customers each week and employing around 2500 staff. Lothian’s salary packages are benchmarked and set in comparison to other transport providers so that leadership talent can be found and retained. This in turn assists Lothian in maintaining its high levels of business performance, innovation and customer satisfaction.”

A council spokesperson said: “We want to promote transparency and accountability within the Council and always publish the salaries and expenses of our most senior managers as part of our annual accounts. Rates of pay are determined by a wholly objective job evaluation scheme aligned to the national pay arrangements for chief officials, which reflect the level of responsibility for the roles concerned.

“Of the individuals attributed to the city council by the Taxpayers Alliance, four are employed by arm’s-length Council companies, four only appear due to staff release payments taking them over £100,000.”

Edinburgh Trams declined to comment.

Edinburgh’s four highest-paid council-sector employees, 2021-22

- Paul Lawrence – council director of place: £199,077

- Lea Harrison – Edinburgh Trams managing director: £191,441

- Nigel Serafini – Lothian Buses interim managing director: £186,650

- Andrew Kerr – council chief executive: £180,364

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