£320,000 ‘goodbye’ of capital’s highest-earning council boss

A housing chief who quit after failing to persuade tenants to give up control of their council homes is named today as London's best-paid town hall official.

Neil Litherland secured a pay-off in excess of £320,000 from Camden. Research for the Evening Standard shows how "fat cat" pay has soared across London's 33 local authorities, despite demands for efficiencies to protect jobs during the recession.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show 498 officials took home more than £100,000 in 2008/09 — a 21 per cent increase on the previous year. There were also 12,231 council staff on more than £50,000.

Mr Litherland's "golden goodbye" was about £40,000 more than the money earned by London's best-paid chief executive, Newham's Joe Duckworth.

Camden tried to keep the payment secret by saying that identifying Mr Litherland, who had been housing director, would be an "unfair and unwarranted interference" in his privacy.

Tenants' representatives in Camden reacted angrily to the size of the payout. Mr Litherland had been at the forefront of a campaign to persuade them to transfer their council homes from town hall control to a quango known as an Almo, or arms-length management organisation.

Opponents of the policy claim it is a first step to the homes being privatised, and in Camden tenants voted overwhelmingly to retain the council as their landlord.

Meric Apak, chairman of Camden Fed, which represents the borough's tenants' associations, said: "My experience was that he did not have a record of interaction with tenants, positive or otherwise. In this economic climate when there is no money, it's a disgrace that the council has to pay executives such exorbitant amounts.

"The £320,000 is adequate to build two council homes. That could help two homeless families on the waiting list. He never climbed down from his ivory tower. He never spoke to tenants."

Mr Litherland, who was also deputy chief executive and head of adult social care, had been with the council for 13 years. He quit in August 2008 in a restructuring, and said at the time:
"I have had a great time at Camden."

The payment was approved by the council's Liberal Democrat and Conservative administration in the 2008/09 financial year. Camden paid 26 staff more than £100,000. Chief executive Moira Gibb got between £220,000 and £229,000.

A Camden spokeswoman said: "The public interest in withholding this information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it. Disclosure would be an unfair and unwarranted interference in the individual's privacy."

The Standard found that there was a dramatic increase in six-figure salaries at several boroughs. Those earning £100,000 or more at Greenwich went up from 11 to 24; in Islington from nine to 23; Tower Hamlets from 15 to 26; and Westminster 17 to 30.

The 10 Best-Paid Council Officials

Neil Litherland Camden
£320,000-£330,000

Joe Duckworth Newham
£280,000-£289,000

Colin Wilson Westminster
£270,000-£279,000

Unidentified officer Newham
£250,000-£259,000

Anthony Mayer GLA
£250,000-£259,000

Gerald Jones Wandsworth
£230,000-£239,000

Graham Ellis Westminster
£230,00-£239,000

Moira Gibb Camden
£220,000-£229,000

Darra Singh Ealing
£220,000-£229,000

Derek Myers Ken'ton & Chelsea
£220,000-£229,000

*Figure are for London in 2008/09
*Those named are serving chief executives except Mr Litherland and Mr Mayer, who is a former chief executive of the GLA.
*Many councils refused to identify their highest earners by name

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