On Wednesday, Janet Finch-Saunders AM tabled amendments to the Local Democracy (Wales) Bill, which is currently at Stage 3 of the legislative process.
The amendments that have been tabled would effectively put a statutory cap on the amount that Chief Executives and Senior Officers of local authorities can be paid. This figure would be proposed by the ‘Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales’ for each financial year starting on the 1st April 2014
Speaking about the amendments, Janet said: "I was determined to put forward amendments which dealt specifically with the issue of exorbitant Chief Executive and Senior Officer pay, and the Welsh Conservatives were the first to table such amendments at Stage 3. I have consistently raised this issue with both the current Minister for Local Government as well as with her predecessor, which had previously been dismissed or met with ambivalence on their part."
"I am pleased that through working with the opposition parties in the Senedd we have been able to bring pressure to bear on the Welsh Government on this fundamentally important issue."
There has been a growing awareness of the need to address Senior Officer pay at the local level from news stories such as Caerphilly council’s approval of a, since ruled "unlawful", pay rise for its Chief Executive of £27,000. This was followed by the revelation that more than a dozen senior officers in Wales are in receipt of remuneration packages in excess of the UK Prime Minister’s annual salary.
"The majority of public sector staff have been subject to a pay freeze, and the fact that Chief Executive and Senior Officer’s pay levels have risen is outrageous."
"The amendments I have tabled will bring common sense to the issue of curbing excessive Chief Executive and Senior Officer pay, and I look forward to them being put to a vote in the Senedd".
The amendments tabled can be found here