SEVEN senior officials at East Ayrshire Council are being paid almost £1 million a year between them to run the cash-strapped local authority.

The eye watering payments were revealed this week by pressure group the Taxpayers Alliance in their annual survey of the earnings of town hall executives in Scotland and across the UK.

They found that all seven East Ayrshire chiefs had remuneration packages including pension contributions of more than £100,000 per annum.

The biggest single payout was to chief executive Eddie Fraser who earns £166,244 per annum, including pension contributions of £23,218.

The second biggest earner was Craig McArthur, director of East Ayrshire's health and social care partnership, on £143,759.

The council's deputy chief executive, Kate Kelly, got the third highest payment – a total of £142,439.

Chief financial officer Joe McLachlan received £122,038, chief governance officer David Mitchell £120,670, head of education Linda Macaulay-Griffiths £119,023, and head of children's health Marion McAulay £117,076.

Those seven officials earned a combined total of £931,246, including £141,660 in pension contributions.

Across Britain, the Taxpayers Alliance Town Hall Rich List found a total of 2,759 bosses earning more than £100,000 per annum with 721 getting £150,000 or more.

For the third year running, the local authority in Scotland with the most employees who received pay packages in excess of £100,000 was Edinburgh, with 29.

Nationally, 246 council officers in Scotland earned over £100k - 50 of which earned upwards of £150k. A total of 2,759 local government employees earned at least six figures UK-wide, 721 of which received a total remuneration of over £150k.

For the third year running, the local authority in Scotland with the most employees who received remuneration in excess of £100,000 in 2021-22 was Edinburgh, with 29.

The biggest remuneration package in the nation was received by North Lanarkshire's executive director for enterprise and communities - £536,530, the third largest remuneration in the UK.

The Taxpayers Alliance are calling on local authority bosses to offer value for money and stop council tax rises.

Their chief executive John O'Connell said: "Taxpayers facing record council tax rises want to be sure they are getting value for money from their local authority leadership.

“Many authorities continue with extremely generous pay and perks, including bonuses and golden goodbyes, while local people are facing a financial squeeze.

“Residents can use these figures to hold their local town hall bosses to account.”

The Taxpayers Alliance has been given the lowest possible grade for financial transparency by the campaigning and journalism website OpenDemocracy.

Questions have previously been raised about the group's connection to 55 Tufton Street, London, where regular meetings take place between right-wing think tanks and groups backing the Leave campaign in the Brexit referendum.

The low-tax TPA linked their list to the cost-of-living struggles across the country and said council tax rises should be halted and "wasteful spending" cut.

An East Ayrshire Council spokesperson said:”The Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee for Local Authority Services sets the salaries for the chief executives of Scottish local authorities. 

“We are transparent with what our chief officers earn and salaries have always been a matter of public record. 

“In East Ayrshire, the number of chief officer posts has been reduced significantly over the years and salaries reflect the wide and complex range of very significant financial, managerial and legal responsibilities undertaken by officers.”