UNDER pressure from Thurrock Nub News,Thurrock Council has responded and updated its web page that is obligated to show how much it pays to senior officers.

The table of payments always runs almost two years behind reality but the council had failed to update the figures, leaving expenditure set at the 2022 level.

However, after questions from Nub News, the figures up to and including 31 March 2023 have now been revealed. The council has not apologised for the delay, nor explained why it happened.

The newly released figures show that 31 March 2023 the council had 16 officers on salaries of more than £100,000 and possibly four more. Of those 16, six were more than £120,000 and potentially three more.

The senior salary at that time was designated to the managing director who was earning between £240,001 and £245,000. The current postholder, Dr David Smith was appointed and took office on 23 March 2023.

His salary is stated as at least £240,001.

In total, on 1 April, 2023, 325 officers at Thurrock Council earned more than £50,000. Data released on 31 December 2024 showed the authority employed 2,356 people, with 67% working full time (1,574). That means more than one in five people at Thurrock Council, on average, were earning more than the London average wage of £47,455, effectiveley discrediting the much-propagated theory that Thurrock was unable to attract good staff because of the discrepancy caused by London weighting.

At the same time the council was also paying 23 officers who worked for the now disbanded and discredited National Investigation Service (NATIS) a minimum of £2,952,200 in total. Two officers within the organisation earned more than £100,000 each.

Details of the senior salary structure on 31 March 2023 can be found via this link. However, that is now substantially out of date and Thurrock Nub News believes the senior management salary structure – which does not include pension and NI payments - is significantly higher.

As well as directorate managers and the managing Director Commissioner, it is believed there are more than 30 people operating at assistant director level, many of whom are paid substantially more than £100,00 a year.

And in addition to the staff members, the council has a large number of consultants on its payroll – which it does not have to declare as part of its salary structure.

A number of senior officers have also joined - and quickly left - the authority over recent months, a high 'churn' of officers that is likely to have come with substantial pay-offs.

It's not just officers who are cashing in, at last month's full council meeting, Labour members outvoted opposition councillors and created two new 'deputy cabinet member' posts with allowances of just under £6,000 each.