Council staff earning more than £58,000 to be named publicly

As many as 15,000 council workers earning more than £58,000 a year are to be named under government plans to force local authorities to cut middle management waste, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Eric Pickles, the Local Government Secretary, is to order councils to list the staff and detail their responsibilities.

Many local authorities are threatening to increase charges or make cuts to front- line services because of the steep reduction in central government funding that comes into effect in April. The proposed cuts, including the closure of libraries, a squeeze on social care and a refusal to fill in pot holes, are proving politically damaging for the Coalition.

It is understood that Mr Pickles believes that councils should focus on “middle management waste” before scrapping front-line services. He hopes making salary details public will undermine claims by council chiefs that services must be cut because of budget pressures.

Read the entire article at The Daily Telegraph.