Bedfordshire Council’s top earners paid £2m last year

Phil Simpkins, left, and Richard Carr, council chief executives

Bedfordshire’s 12 best-paid council staff were paid almost £2million last year.

The figures, published by the Taxpayers’ Alliance, highlight all local authority staff paid £100,000-plus in 2017-18.

Five staff at Bedford Borough were paid a combined total of £707,528 in 2017-18.

The best-paid was chief executive Phil Simpkins who took home £210,449, including pension contributions worth £29,400 as well as £7,632 for his role as returning officer for elections.

Meanwhile six officers from Central Beds Council were paid more than £1.05million between them. Its chief executive Richard Carr was paid a salary of £229,700.

A Director of Public Health for the East of England was jointly employed by both authorities, plus Milton Keynes Council, for £116,674 a year.

A spokesman for Central Beds Council said: “The council is responsible for multi-million pound budgets and we deliver a broad and complex range of services. Our senior executive salaries reflect this level of responsibility and our need to attract talented and experienced people to deliver quality services.”