THE top ten earners' salaries at Somerset County Council - which total £1,126,707 - have been defended as 'you get what you pay for'.

The TaxPayers' Alliance has slammed local authorities in its Town Hall Rich List, although County Hall called its figures misleading as they include taxpayer-funded pension contributions and 'stand-in' staff.

Ten employees earn more than £100,000, with chief executive Patrick Flaherty on £154,530, children's services director Julian Wooster £133,926 and lead commissioner adults and health Stephen Chandler £121,200.

The other seven earn between £101,001 and £103,020, while pension contributions range from £13,365 to £20,861.

Taunton Deane and West Somerset Councils share a chief executive, Penny James, their only worker paid more than £100,000.

Taxpayers' Alliance chief executive John O'Connell said: "Despite many in the public sector facing a much-needed pay freeze to help bring the public finances under control, many town hall bosses are continuing to pocket huge remuneration packages, with the number of people on six-figure deals actually going up since last year.

"There are talented people in the public sector trying to deliver more for less, but the sheer scale of these packages raise serious questions about efficiency and priorities."

County Hall's senior manager pay bill dropped from £2.2 million in 2010 to £2 million last year, but scores of workers were made redundant.

Taunton resident Dave Orr said: "After six years of austerity, the overall pay bill is down by 41 per cent, yet the senior manager pay bill is down by only ten per cent."

Cllr Claire Kober, chairman of the Local Government Association's Resources Board, has defended the wages.

She said: "Councils are large, complex organisations with sizeable budgets and responsibility for delivering more than 700 services, including caring for the elderly and vulnerable and protecting children.

"It is important that the right people with the right skills and experience are retained to deliver this work."

A Somerset County Council spokeswoman said: “This report highlights that Somerset is in line, if not better, than other local authorities with regards to senior management pay and responsibility for similar budgets would command far higher salaries in the private sector.

“We don't pay our directors the salaries quoted by the TaxPayers’ Alliance."

A Deane and West Somerset spokeswoman said the two authorities share an officer team led by one chief executive, which has helped save £1.8 million annually.

She added: "Just one officer working for the two councils is paid more than £100,000, with that cost shared equally by the two authorities.

"This means the cost of the most senior officer is considerably less than comparable district councils in Somerset."

Another officer's pay was shown as more than £100,000 in 2014-15 due to their redundancy package.