WEST Somerset Council has hit back at reports that it pays staff less than the Living Wage.

In a report in The Mirror on Friday headlined ‘The 10 councils named and shamed for paying staff less than Living Wage’, the newspaper claimed that West Somerset Council topped the list of the ten local authority areas in England and Wales with the largest proportion of jobs paying less than the Living Wage in 2014.

The Mirror claimed that West Somerset Council paid 42% of its staff below the Living Wage of £7.85 an hour (£9.15 in London).

The article was based on statistics published in a report by the GMB Union as part of a ‘Town-Hall Campaign’ by the GMB aimed at encouraging local authorities to “champion” the Living Wage.

However, the statistics refer to employers in the local authority area, not the council.

A council spokesman said: “West Somerset Council would like to make it clear that a claim in a national newspaper that 42.9% of its staff are paid less than the Living Wage is untrue.

“The council is in partnership with Taunton Deane Borough Council. All staff working for the two authorities are employed by Taunton Deane Borough Council, therefore, West Somerset Council does not employ any staff.

All staff working for the councils as one team are paid above the Living Wage.” The Living Wage is a salary that is deemed to be high enough to maintain a normal standard of living.

So far, 134 out of 375 local authorities in England and Wales have implemented the Living Wage, including Taunton Deane Council.