A TOTAL of 17 Somerset Council employees are receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration a year, according to data from the 2024 Town Hall Rich List.

The data was collected by Taxpayers' Alliance for the Town Hall Rich List for this year, which included a list of council employees in the UK in receipt of over £100,000 in total remuneration in a single financial year.

For the average (band D) property, taxpayers in England will have to pay a council tax rise of 5.1 per cent, or an extra £106, in 2024-25.

The council tax increase for Somerset Council was 2.99 per cent, plus 2 per cent social care.

Against this background, the number of local authority employees receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration has risen to the highest level since 2013-14, the Taxpayers’ Alliance also reported.

The table below shows the list of staff members at Somerset Council receiving a total remuneration of £100,00 a year and over.

A spokesperson for Somerset Council said the authority is "currently in the process of reducing the size of our whole organisation" and "this will include a further reduction in directors and senior managers".

A spokesperson for Somerset Council said: “We are completely transparent about what we pay our staff and details of our pay policy and the salaries of senior staff are published on our website.

“The pay grades for all roles are comparable with other councils and are informed by a nationally recognised job evaluation process.

“Since the TPA data was reviewed in 2022/23 we have been through Local Government Reorganisation and reduced our senior salary bill by £2.6m a year.

“However, the financial emergency facing councils across the country has been widely reported and we are currently in the process of reducing the size of our whole organisation, while ensuring we can continue to deliver essential services and serve the best interests of our residents, communities, and businesses.

“This will include a further reduction in directors and senior managers.”