3,483 council staff earn more than £100,000 a year - and 537 get more than David Cameron

The Chancellor vows to 'reign in' large remuneration packages

George Osborne said the large salaries showed the scope that remains for savings (EPA)

George Osborne has hit out at local authorities after figures showed more than 3,000 council staff across the UK earn at least £100,000.

In 2013/14 3,483 council staff, 50,084 NHS staff and 7,554 university staff made a six-figure salary according to figures obtained by the Daily Mail and the Taxpayers' Alliance.

The data also showed 537 local authority bosses earn more than David Cameron - with one getting a salary of over £400,000 and three others over £350,000.

The analysis of almost 6,000 Freedom of Information requests also discovered there were 130 councils with at least 10 employees receiving more than £100,000 and that taxpayer’s money had been used to pay for private medical insurance and gagging orders.

Mr Osborne told the Daily Mail: "I intend to issue new guidance sending a clear signal to public sector employers on pay and terms - setting out what I, and I suspect most taxpayers, see as unacceptable.

"What this shows is the scope that remains for savings at a time when budgets need to be trimmed. We're determined to do all we can to rein in excess where we find it."

Between 2010 and 2015, local council spending fell by 18 per cent.