THE chief executive of West Dunbartonshire Council was paid around £125,000 last year, according to research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) pressure group.

Joyce White was paid a total of £124,956, and earned a pension of £24,074 – bringing her total income for 2018-19 to £149,030.

The figures were revealed weeks after the council set a 4.84 per cent increase in council tax for 2020-21.

The TPA wants council tax to be frozen and local authority spending to be focused on frontline health and social care services during the coronavirus crisis.

The TPA released its 13th annual ‘Town Hall Rich List, which it claims lets taxpayers judge which authorities are delivering the best value for money.

Along with Ms White’s salary, three WDC senior officers’ incomes have also been revealed.

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Angela Wilson, strategic director of transformation and public sector reform, earned £108,535 along with a £20,910 pension.

Richard Cairns, strategic director of regeneration, environment and growth, was paid the same as Ms Wilson.

Meanwhile, Stephen West, strategic lead for resources and ‘section 95’ officer earned £88,116, plus a £16,976 pension.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TPA, said: “The coronavirus crisis means that frontline council services are more crucial than ever, but at the same time household budgets face an enormous squeeze from crushing council tax rises.

“There are plenty of talented people in local authorities who are focused on delivering more for less, but that is needed across the board.

“The country needs every council to cut out waste and prioritise key services without resorting to punishing tax hikes on their residents.

“These figures should shine a light on the town hall bosses who’ve got it right, but also allow taxpayers to hold to account those who aren’t delivering value for money at this critical time.”

In response, a spokeswoman for WDC said: “The salary of our chief executive and senior officers are both set nationally. The chief executive’s salary, like other authorities, is linked to the population.

“The chief executive is ultimately responsible for leading and managing hundreds of services including education, social work and housing as well as 6,000 employees and a revenue budget of more than £200m and multi million pound capital investments to deliver regeneration and economic development in the West Dunbartonshire area.

“The council has had a programme in place since 2015 to reduce the number of senior managers in the organisation and year on year this is generating significant savings with the latest reduction in 2019.”

Political opponents have long accused the TPA of being a right-wing pressure group, and have criticised the organisation for not being transparent about how it is funded, claiming its real purpose is to dramatically slash public spending, rather than simply to make public bodies more efficient.