LGA chief agrees to £200k pay cut

The LGA confirmed the decision to cut John Ransford’s salary from £245,612 to ‘less than £100,000’ with no employer pension contributions until he retires from the post next summer.

Mr Ransford was awarded a package worth £302,840 for 2009/10 after being promoted to chief executive nearly two years ago. He received a £245,000 basic salary and also benefited from £57,228 in pension contributions.

Thirty council leaders had signed a letter saying the pay package was ‘simply not acceptable in the current climate’ and asking Mr Ransford to consider a 10 per cent pay cut ‘as a starting point’.

Local authorities are having to make significant financial savings following chancellor George Osborne’s decision to impose a 25 per cent cut in central government funding to councils by 2014/15 as part of the spending review.

The letter from councils said: ‘Town halls up and down the country are having to make tough decisions on cuts as funding shrinks. For the LGA to pay its chief executive £302,840, double that of the prime minister, shows a complete lack of regard to its members and their finances; after all, this is taxpayers’ money. The LGA should be leading by example.’

Baroness Margaret Eaton, chairman of the LGA, said the organisation has ‘every confidence’ in Mr Ransford, and said he had worked ‘tirelessly’ to make the group ‘more effective and efficient’.

‘We are determined to represent our sector robustly, effectively and at a reasonable cost to councils at a time of immense financial pressures,’ she added.