COUNCILS are to be forced to disclose the pay and perks of their chief executives and other senior officers under new legislation designed to crackdown on so-called town hall “fat cats.”

We revealed earlier this week how Kent County Council had paid its most senior officers more than £100,000 in bonuses, triggering a political row and a public outcry.

Now local government minister John Healey says the public has a right to know what council bosses earn and what bonuses, pensions and pay-offs they are entitled to.

He said: “We’ve seen in some councils’ salaries spiralling, we’ve seen some big pay-offs for failure, and that can’t go on. I think the public need to know the full picture. That’s why I’m going to change the rules.”

The current level of disclosure was “well short of what we require for senior civil servants and I think the public needs to know the full picture,” he added.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, Kent County Council has been told that it should comply with a request to disclose the identities of 14 officers who earn more than £100,000.

In a provisional ruling, the Information Commissioner has upheld an appeal by the Taxpayers’ Alliance against the county council’s refusal to disclose the information.

The council’s chief executive Peter Gilroy had intervened to block the release of the information on the grounds that naming the officers could lead to them being abused in public.

The council said it was now considering its response to the Information Commissioner’s finding.

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