The state is still spending our money like water

I saw Polly Toynbee talk a couple of weeks ago, and she pointed out that you are in the top ten percent of earners if you earn more than £40,000. Now, Polly is notorious for quoting dodgy figures but, if this is true, there are some very high earners in the public sector.

Yes, the Taxpayers' Alliance has produced its annual Public Sector Rich List [PDF], which documents those public sector employees who are earning more than £150,000 per year.

Here is a brief summary of their findings.

• Details of 387 public sector employees earning over £150,000


• 194 public sector employees earn more than the Prime Minister


• 4 people on the public payroll earned more than £1m last year


• Senior executives enjoyed an average remuneration increase of 10.9% from 2006–07 to 2007-08

How many of those working in the private sector got a near-11% increase last year, I wonder? Or this year?* Come to think of it, how many of the frontline staff in the public sector got 11%?

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller...?

Now in its third edition, the TaxPayers' Alliance today publishes the Public Sector Rich List 2008, the definitive guide to all those in the public sector with remuneration packages over £150,000. Against a background of impending recession and at a time when the financial crisis is hitting ordinary families harder every day, this year's list is the biggest ever, exposing 387 public employees receiving City levels of remuneration from a record 140 public sector organisations. The report also details the top ten rewards for failure in the public sector, the 10 well-paid officials from the FSA, Treasury and Bank of England who oversaw the financial system and failed to prevent the financial crisis, and lists 24 executives who have received sizeable financial rewards despite presiding over embarrassing data loss scandals.

Topping the list at £1,244,000 is the head of Network Rail, Ian Coucher, while second and third place go to Adam Crozier at Royal Mail (£1,242,000) and Andy Duncan at Channel 4 (£1,211,000) respectively. Also in the top ten are employees of British Nuclear Fuels, the FSA, the BBC and Adam Applegarth, the controversial Chief Executive of Northern Rock.

Nice work if you can get it, eh?

• There are 387 people receiving remuneration packages of £150,000 or more a year across 140 government departments, quangos, other public bodies and public corporations, up from 300 people on the 2007 Public Sector Rich List. (Note that this excludes local government, who are published on their own TPA Rich List every March. The 2008 Town Hall Rich List identified 88 people earning over £150,000 a year.)


• There are 4 people in the public sector who earn more than £1 million a year, up from 1 person earning above £1 million last year.


• There are 21 people in the public sector earning above £500,000 a year, up from 17 on last year's list.


• There are 88 people earning above £250,000 a year, up from 66 on last year's list.


• There are 194 people earning more than the Prime Minister, whose salary is £189,994, up from 142 on last year's list.


• The 387 people on our list had an average pay rise of 10.9 per cent between 2006-07 and 2007-08. This is three times average earnings growth (including bonuses) across the country, which is currently around 3.5 per cent.


• The average total remuneration of the 387 people on the list is almost £240,000 per annum. This works out at over £4,600 a week. Although many people on the list are likely to work longer, based on a 35-hour week, this is equal to over £130 an hour, or around £2.15 a minute.


• These remuneration packages can be compared with a soldier earning around £20,000, a nurse earning £23,000, the average Chief Executive of a small company earning £65,000, and the average Chief Executive of a medium-sized company earning £122,000.


• The 10 most highly paid people in the public sector earn almost £1 million on average, which is around 50 times the amount earned by someone starting out as a police officer, nurse or soldier.


• The report features a list of the top 10 rewards for failure, including highly paid officials from HMRC (which lost 25 million people's personal data); the Financial Services Authority (which presided over the worst financial crisis since 1930); Northern Rock; the QCA and other organisations which have failed the public.


• The report includes a list of 10 people working for the three bodies responsible for regulating the financial system – the FSA, the Treasury and the Bank of England - who have overseen the financial crisis.  Their remuneration packages average almost £400,000 per annum.


• A special list is also included of 24 executives who have presided over embarrassing losses of personal data over the past year.  Their average remuneration package was over £190,000 per annum.

Thank goodness that we have our noble Prime Minister to steer us through these choppy financial waters with his ethos of prudence, eh?

* Alright, I did; but I'm not earning anywhere near £150,000, I assure you. In fact, last month's pay rise ensures that, for the first time in my decade-long working life, I am now earning over the median wage. And believe me, I'm really working for it...