Salaries of quango chiefs earning more than £150,000 have been published

The salaries of quango chiefs earning more than £150,000 have been published in a drive to make government more transparent.

The quango bosses’ salaries have now been added to the list which outlines the highest earning senior civil servants, which was published by the Cabinet Office in June.

There are now 332 senior civil servants and senior quango staff earning more than £150,000.

The highest paid quango chief was David Higgins, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority, who is paid £394,999.

Higgins was one of eight senior figures at the body earning more than £200,000 a year.

Tony Fountain, chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, was shown to receive £369,999 a year, while Lord Mogg, chairman of energy regulator Ofgem, gets £214,999.

Jim McLaughlin, HR director of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, was also shown to receive between £150,000-£154,999.

The heads of quangos such as the Medical Research Council, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Horserace Betting Levy Board and the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, are all paid more than £200,000.

Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, who also chairs the new Public Sector Transparency Board, said: “Today’s release, along with previous publications listing high earning civil servants and salaries of special advisers, shows that transparency is fast becoming an integral part of everything we do.

“I believe this will not only increase accountability, but will lead to more efficient public service organisations.”

The Cabinet Office is now working to publish the names, grades, job titles and annual pay rates for most senior civil servants and non-departmental public body officials with salaries higher than £58,200, later this year.

Through the Public Bodies (Reform) Bill, the government will reduce the number of quangos, and provide ministers with powers to abolish, merge or transfer their functions. The functions of public bodies will be reviewed every three years.