New data from the United Kingdom’s Cabinet Office has revealed that almost 600 Public Servants now earn at least £150,000 ($A285,200) a year — an 8.5 per cent increase on the previous year’s figures.
The just-published ‘high earners’ list gives a snapshot of pay in September last year, and contains 599 names, up from 552 in 2020.
Rail industry executives dominated the league table’s upper echelons, occupying eight of the top 10 spots.
Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd., Mark Thurston (pictured) heads the earnings tally for the fourth year in a row.
The head of the Department for Transport-owned firm, which is responsible for delivering England’s next generation of high-speed rail lines, is in a salary band of up to £624,999 ($A1.18 million) unchanged from last year.
Chief Executive of Network Rail, Andrew Haines is in second place on the list, with a salary of up to £589,999 ($A1.12 million), also unchanged from 2020.
Six other senior officials at the Department for Transport’s rail infrastructure owner and operator feature in the top 10.
The only non-rail officials are Chief Executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, David Peattie, and Chief Executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, Richard Moriarty.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said the high earners list represented just 0.1 per cent of Public Service jobs and that 44 of the 47 roles added for 2021 were “not new jobs” and had no additional cost to the taxpayer.
“We recognise that high salaries in the public sector must be justified and all salaries at or above £150,000 are fully scrutinised and approved by Ministers,” the spokesperson said.
According to the latest Public Service statistics, the median salary at the end of March last year was £29,180 ($A55,484).
London, 29 January 2022
