NINE Hampshire County Council chiefs on six-figure salaries have been identified.

A list of the top paid executives at the county council was released on Monday as part of a new Government drive on transparency.

In total, they cost taxpayers £1.52m in pay and “gold plated”

pension perks last year. Three of the senior executives raked in more than the prime minister.

Andrew Smith, chief executive, topped the list with a salary of £207,969 and employer contributions to his pension of £38,679. His total package was worth £246,648.

John Coughlan, deputy chief executive and director of children’s services, was second with a pay and pensions package worth £193,541, including a salary of £158,190.

Jon Pittam, recently retired county treasurer, trailed behind Mr Coughlan despite receiving the same salary, partly because of slightly lower pension benefits.

His total package was £187,409.

All three earned more than David Cameron who took a pay cut when he entered Number 10 from £196,000 a year to £142,500.

The pay and perks of the council’s top earners were revealed ahead of the publication of its annual accounts.

Under new regulations, local authorities have to name employees earning more than £150,000, their job title, basic salary, and what they get in pensions, redundancy pay-offs, bonuses and special allowances — the first time this information has been made public.

The Conservative-controlled council has previously repeatedly refused to reveal the pay of its top earners, claiming it was a breach of their privacy.

Others with big pay packets include: Stuart Jarvis, director of environment; Alison Quant, director of economic development; Karen Murray, director of property, business and regulatory; Gill Duncan, director of adult services; Yinnon Ezra, director of culture, communities and rural affairs and Gavin Wright director of human resources.

They were not named, but identified by job title as earning more than £100,000.

The council defended the sums paid to its top earners saying they were collectively responsible for a budget of £1.8bn, and the delivery of services to 1.26 million people.

They include educating 170,000 children, maintaining 5,200 miles of roads, and looking after 80,000 vulnerable people.

The council says the combined £1.27m salaries of the chief executive and eight chief officers is 0.2 per cent of the authority’s total pay bill.

The county council employs around 41,000 staff.

Council leader Cllr Ken Thornber, who does not receive a salary but is paid a special responsibility allowance of £28,967 plus a basic allowance of £12,003, said: “We are publishing the salaries of the most senior officers of the county council despite my misgivings about the rights to privacy that so many other people enjoy.

“Our salary levels are not the highest in local government, and indeed the chief executives of councils smaller than Hampshire exceed those of our chief executive.

“We base salaries on the size of Hampshire County Council which is the third largest in England, its complexity, and the critical nature of our responsibilities.”

But Christine Melsom, chairman of anti-council tax group, IsItFair, said:“Council taxpayers have a right to know how our money is being spent.

“The amount of public money being paid to the top earners is shockingly high and should be cut.”

Peter Terry, regional organiser for Unison south east, said: “I don’t think those (high) levels of salary can be justified, but our concern is for the lower paid whose pay is being frozen.”