What is Southend Borough Council hiding?

The Taxpayers’ Alliance have today released a report called the “Town Hall Rich List 2010″ which gives the salaries of the higher-ups at local and county councils up and down the country. The used the Freedom of Information Act (2000) to squeeze the information out.

Southend Borough Council “refused to respond on the grounds of data protection” – why? If most other councils gave over the information, why have SBC refused? Just how much is the Chief Executive on? There are no grounds to refuse on the data protection clause. All we want to know is the name, position, and salary – which as tax-paying citizens we have every bloody right to.

Both Rochford and Castle Point councils responded. The information given for all three is as follows (click on the image to enlarge it):

As for Essex County Council…well…you can judge for yourself…but their (nameless, apparently) Chief Executive is paid more than Gordon Brown. Nice. For the list of Council Officers, see their website here. You’ll have to match up the salaries to the names, I’m afraid, as they didn’t bother doing it in their FOI response to the Taxpayers’ Alliance. Again, click to enlarge the image: