Fenland District Council's chief executive enjoys a £143K pay cheque - just £10k less than the Prime Minister

Fenland District council's chief executive Paul Medd earns almost as much as Prime Minister Theresa May according to a new report set to go before councillors next week.

Mr Medd earns £143,174 a year, while Mrs May earned £153,907 in 2017/18. The report also highlights the pay gap between Mr Medd and the authority's lowest paid workers.

He earns 8.7 times as much as the lowest paid worker (down slightly on last year), who takes home £16,495. On top of his basic salary Mr Medd also enjoys £2,000 healthcare provision, a car allowance, and can look forward to the added bonus come election time as he also gets paid for his role as the district's Returning Officer.

As the Returning Officer for county, district and parish council elections he will earn £373 for each contested or £55 for each uncontested district ward - there are 24 of those.

He gets a further £104 for each contested town/parish ward and £28 for each uncontested. If a town/parish ward is contested along with a district ward the fee is £34 for the town/parish element. Fees for conducting Parliamentary elections, European and police and crime commissioners are determined by way of a Statutory Instrument.

Salaries of all Fenland's top officers, which are published on the council's website, are highlighted in the report and are made public as part of the Localism Act 2011. The report also points out that major decisions on pay are largely determined nationally by the National Agreement on Pay.

Fenland's chief executive can earn a basic salary of between £125,000 and £143,174 - but the report goes on to say Mr Medd's pay is 8.7 times that of the lowest paid worker on a Grade 2 pay scale who earns £16,495 - which indicates he is on the upper limit of his pay scale. The council has no workers on the lowest Grade 1.

The council does not have a policy on maintaining or reaching a specific pay ratio between the lowest and highest paid staff.

Members of the council's corporate management team earn between £60,000 and £92,736 - there are five. Heads of service can expect to receive £42,808 and £59,310. There are eight of these.

There are no bonus arrangements payable to the chief executive, the corporate management team or heads of service.

There have been a number of reviews since 2011 and as a result the corporate management team has been reduced from 11 to five and there has also been cuts in the number of heads of services and managers.

The report to Thursday's meeting advises members must approve the council’s Senior Manager Pay Policy Statement as part of the Localism Act 2011. This must be done annually before March 31.