The mayor of Newham has hit out at criticism of the ￡240,000 a year salary of the borough's chief executive. Sir Robin Wales challenged the Sunday Telegraph newspaper for highlighting the salary paid to Newham LBC head, Joe Duckworth, which topped its survey of III chief executives. The survey has come under fire from senior council leaders for failing to make comparisons with salary levels in other public sector organisations, or with private companies with comparable budgets and staff levels. Newham has population of 260,000 and is one of the UK's most ethnically-diverse and deprived areas, and will be a key venue for the 2012 Olympic Games. The council spends around ￡500m a year on services, and employs 13,000 people. Sir Robin pointed out: "This is a highly- complex job with huge responsibilities, and should be paid accordingly. 'Similar sized jobs in the private sector would be paid much more. As local authorities, we are responsible for ensuring that taxpayers' money is spent wisely and our residents get the services they want and need.
展开▼
