By Claire Warrender

FIFE COUNCIL has defended an apparent increase in the number of highly paid staff it employs, saying it has changed the way it calculates remuneration.

Council leader Anne McGovern was responding to criticism after new figures suggested that 561 more staff earned between £40,000 and £49,999 last year than in 2004/05.

The figures contained in the local authority’s draft audit of accounts also showed the number of people earning £50,000-£59,999 had risen from 72 to 79, and the number earning £60,000 to £69,999 had gone up from 29 to 62.

Twenty-one people were paid between £70,000 and £79,999 last year, compared with just six in 2004/05.

The council’s SNP group leader David Alexander had called on the Labour group to justify the increases to council tax payers hit with tax increases and cuts in service.

“It won’t be good news to the public that the number of highly paid staff is increasing while budgets are diminishing,” he said.

“There’s certainly an issue here as it seems to be all chiefs and no Indians.”

However, Councillor McGovern said new figures included pension contributions and redundancy payments previously excluded.

“The key figures Councillor Alexander is referring to include people on a salary banding of £40,000 to £49,999,” she said.

“In terms of the production of this information for 2005/06, there was a fundamental change in the way remuneration was defined for the annual accounts due to the inclusion of pension contributions.

“For 2005/06 it is the gross salary which is included.

“Of the increase of 561, an additional 172 police officers and 344 teaching staff have fallen into this salary band.”

She said gross salary includes costs associated with early retiral and redundancy payments which had also pushed some salaries up.

“We can’t expect to reduce our headcount as part of ongoing efficiency savings as outlined in this year’s budget without paying staff what they are entitled to.

“The number of staff in any given banding should not be taken as if we’re paying that amount of staff that amount of money.”

Councillor Alexander accepted that explanation, but added, “It amazes me that these days we can never do a comparison with anything because the ways of accounting have always changed.”