THIS week I welcomed the government announcement that Fenland District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council will be compelled by law to reveal the pay and conditions of their highest earners. The release of this data should be welcomed by council ta

THIS week I welcomed the government announcement that Fenland District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council will be compelled by law to reveal the pay and conditions of their highest earners.

The release of this data should be welcomed by council taxpayers across Fenland as a step towards greater transparency, encouraging open debate over whether such high wages are justified.

Councils have too often hidden behind data protection legislation to avoid the public discovering the full extent of the salaries, bonuses, pensions and pay-offs of their highest earners.

From the data currently in the public domain there are over 186 council workers with a remuneration package above �50,000 a year across Fenland District and Cambridgeshire County Council, an increase of 1,400 per cent over the last decade. The cumulative cost of this increase has now surpassed �10 million, with wages for our highest council officials increasing at four times the local market rate.

As families across Fenland are being forced to tighten their belts with yet another council tax increase, the Conservative district and county council should finally recognise that these levels of top level pay are both unfair and unsustainable.

PETER ROBERTS

Labour Parliamentary Spokesperson for North East Cambridgeshire