Quango Bosses 'Earning Up To £700,000'

Quango bosses are reportedly earning up to £700,000 a year despite the Government vowing to crack down on public sector pay and a "bonfire" of taxpayer-funded bodies.

Official figures on top-earners' pay do not always include bonuses, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The Cabinet Office publishes lists of public sector bosses who earn more than £150,000.

According to their calculations, 291 people have a salary above this, down from 345.

But the newspaper claims the published figures do not always match the annual accounts of the organisations concerned.

For example, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) chief executive Tony Fountain is identified by the Cabinet Office as having a pay package worth £520,000, which includes a second home allowance and pension contributions.

However, the quango's accounts suggest he received a performance-related bonus worth £146,000 and further payments of nearly £9,000 on top of this, taking his earnings to more than £675,000.

The NDA said the chief executive's remuneration had to be high in order to attract "sufficient experience and expertise".

Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) construction director Howard Shiplee got £320,000 but his £33,000 pension contributions were apparently not included in official figures.

David Hone, the new ODA chief executive, reportedly received a £79,000 bonus on top of his £401,000 salary.

Several bosses at Network Rail, defined as a private company despite receiving £4bn every year from the taxpayer, are identified as having particularly high salaries.

Sir David Higgins, the ex-ODA chief executive who is now the boss of Network Rail, is thought to have received £544,000 from his old job, which included a £179,000 performance bonus.

The ODA said his pay was justified because he did an "inspirational job".

In his new role, Sir David could expect to earn around £869,000, not including his pension.

Bosses at Network Rail are not named in the Cabinet Office's list due to its status as a private company, but a spokesman said Sir David would only get a bonus if he meets "extremely tough" targets.

When the coalition took office, it pledged to have a "bonfire of the quangos" and criticised them for being unaccountable and costly.

The Government announced 192 of the arms-length public bodies would be axed and a further 118 merged.

Quangos are "quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations" which are funded by Whitehall departments but not controlled by them.

The Audit Commission and the Film Council are among the bodies set for the chop.

A spokesman for the Cabinet Office told the Telegraph: "The Government addressed the unacceptable waste and inefficiency in quangos.

"There is still more to do, but increased transparency in public bodies and the removal of waste are top priorities."