Council accused of 'rewarding failure' as high earners soar

363 employees at the council earned at least £50k last year

Bristol City Council has been accused of "rewarding failure" after accounts showed the number of employees earning at least £50,000 has risen by 35%.

In 2022/23, 363 employees earned this compared with 268 the year before.

The council said it was down to a pay award linked to the cost-of-living crisis.

But Councillor David Wilcox said it was: "rewarding failure rather than success in terms of our higher management."

"We have not met our targets for savings," he added.

Last year's pay award for local government workers was a flat rate of an extra £1,925 for all council employees across the country, equal to a 10.5 per cent increase for the lowest paid, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It was backdated to April 1, 2022, and meant an average wage rise of about seven per cent.

The figure of 363 employees earning above £50,000 was in addition to the 18 most senior council officers and bosses who were paid that amount or higher.

Bristol City Council principal accountant Tony Whitlock told the council's audit committee: "From a purely financial point of view it's mainly in the lower bands above £50,000, so it's where people have slipped just into the £50,000 band.

"We have a pay award and we have also got a competency award.

"So it's largely in the first three bandings - £50,000 to £54,999, £55,000 to £59,999, and £60,000 to £64,999 - where that number has increased," he said.