Six council officers received more than £100,000 in remuneration between 2018 and 2019.

The six-figure sums were revealed in the Tax Payers’ Alliance’s annual Town Hall Rich List.

North Ayrshire Council head of education and youth employment, John Butcher, who quit his post in July 2018, received a

salary of £65,536, pension payment of £6,878 and compensation of £100,000.

The then chief executive Elma Murray took home a total of £100,434, and her successor, Craig Hatton received £145,438.

Both Karen Yeomans, current director for growth and investment, and Laura Friel, executive director for finance and corporate support, were paid £129,448 in total.

Then monitoring officer Andrew Fraser received £105,108.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “The coronavirus crisis means that frontline council services are more crucial than ever, but at the same time household budgets face an enormous squeeze from crushing council tax rises.”

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “The salaries paid to our senior managers, directors and Chief Executive are set nationally and are in line with other local authorities.

“The Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee (SJNC) for Local Authority Services sets the salaries for the Chief Executives of Scottish local authorities.

“Subsequently, the salaries of the Directors are based on a fixed percentage of the Chief Executive’s salary.

“All of this is available on our website.”

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