Council boss given £18.5k pay rise last year

The boss of Stoke-on-Trent City Council received a pay rise of £18,500 last year, according to the local authority.

Chief executive Jon Rouse saw his total pay, including pension contributions, increase from £204,923 to £223,470.

Meanwhile, the total number of staff at the authority who were paid more than £50,000 was 321, which was 70 more than the previous year.

The council said this increase was due to inflation and a national pay award, and not through the creation of more high-paid roles, it also said Mr Rouse declined a further pay increase in 2024-25.

The figures were included in the council's latest draft accounts, with authorities required to publish information about staff earning more than £50,000.

Previous accounts showed the number of city council staff above this threshold fell to a low of 114 in 2020-21, but it has risen every year since then.

More than half of the 2023-24 total were in the £50,000 to £54,999 bracket, but there were seven non-senior officers who received more than £100,000.

The figures do not include senior managers at the council - whose pay is listed separately in the accounts.

Apart from Mr Rouse, six other senior officers are listed in the accounts, with their pay ranging from £100,882 to £178,118.

A city council spokesperson said it was important to recognise inflation ran at 3.5% last year and that salaries had increased as a result.

They added: "The chief executive has chosen to decline a pay increase for 2024-25. Given the effects of inflation, this amounts to a real-terms pay cut for him."

Employee-related spending and other inflation issues will create a £14.7m budget pressure for the council in 2025-26.

Cabinet members will agree their final budget proposals when they meet on Tuesday, including a 4.99% council tax increase, as well as £7.5m of savings and a request for a further £16.8m of exceptional financial support from the government.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.