Council criticised by watchdog over chief executive's £220,000 salary » Local government » 24dash.com

A council paying its chief executive £220,000 a year was today criticised by a watchdog.

The Audit Commission said there were "deficiencies" in the way Suffolk County Council had appointed Andrea Hill.

Commission officials, who are responsible for ensuring that public money is spent properly, said auditor Robert Davies who investigated after concerns were raised about Mrs Hill's appointment.

"I have identified areas for improvement," said Mr Davies.

"Whilst they do not mean the appointment process was fundamentally flawed or that unlawful decisions were made by the council, they do indicate that action is required by the council to address the deficiencies that were identified during my review."

But he said Mrs Hill's salary - more than £30,000 higher than Prime Minister Gordon Brown's - was not unreasonable.

"The decision to increase the top of the salary range for the post may be considered by others to be generous, but it is not my role as auditor to substitute my judgment for that of an elected body in the lawful exercise of its discretion," added Mr Davies.

"Based on comparative information from elsewhere, the revised maximum salary range is not so high as to be considered unreasonable."

Earlier this year campaign group The Taxpayers' Alliance said the council's decision to pay Mr Hill so much "totally unjustifiable".

It said the award put Mrs Hill near the top of its local government rich list - and pointed out that she was being paid £70,000 more than the man she replaced.

An alliance spokesman said most people would be "surprised to hear that the person in charge of Suffolk earns more than the person in charge of Britain".

Suffolk's Conservative leader Jeremy Pembroke defended the appointment, saying: "The people who live in Suffolk need and deserve the very best."

Mr Pembroke said the Audit Commission report confirmed that the council's appointment policy was "robust and thorough".

He added: "Labour and the Lib Dems can play politics with this if they like, but the Conservatives will continue working hard on behalf of the people in this county."