Council leaders have defended senior pay in response to a report that found the number of staff receiving more than £100,000 increased. 

Research by the right-wing libertarian think-tank TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) found the number of council staff receiving more than £100,000 increased by 119 to at least 2,921 people during the pandemic.

The TPA also found that 739 of these people received more than £150,000 - 46 more than the previous year and the highest number in 15 years.

Of the 10 local authorities with the most employees receiving more than £100,000, eight were London councils.

But a spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: ‘Councils are large, complex organisations with sizable budgets and responsibility for more than 1,300 different statutory duties and responsibilities that make a huge difference to people's lives.

'It is important that the right people with the right skills and experience are retained to deliver this important work.

‘Senior pay is always decided by democratically elected councillors in an open and transparent way.'