Stoke-on-Trent City Council pay rise plans withdrawn

Plans which would have seen some of a council's most senior managers getting pay rises, according to a report seen by the BBC, have been withdrawn.

A reports shows Stoke-on-Trent City Council planned to cut 14 of its 37 senior bosses, to save more than £1m.

A report revealed a salary in the top tier would have become £131,500 on average under proposals, compared to £128,667 on average currently.

But the council's leadership has now withdrawn the plans.

The authority has wider plans to save £33m.

Under proposals in a leaked report seen by the BBC, the 23 remaining managers in the top two tiers would have earned more than £2m between them, compared to more than £3.3m spent on such salaries currently.

'Absolutely ridiculous'

It revealed in the second tier, which would have been cut from 31 people to 19, the average salary would have fallen to £80,526, compared to an average of £84,419 currently.

In a statement, Councillor Mohammed Pervez, leader of the Labour-led coalition council, said a report was due to go to a committee on 30 November "which was addressing the issue of job evaluations for tiers 1 and 2 within the organisation".

He said: "One of the implications of the report would have been a pay rise for senior officers by increasing the upper limits of the salary grades, a position which quite simply I do not support.

"Hence a decision was made to cancel the meeting and withdraw the report."

The council is a four-way coalition of Labour, the Conservative and Independent Alliance, the Liberal Democrats and City Independents.

Mick Salih, from the Community Voice group on the council, said: "That report should never have been put together.

"We're talking about cutting services and cutting jobs and then one report actually saying about increasing senior officers' salary.

"It's absolutely ridiculous."