Minister John Denham moves on high-earning council chief pensions

Pension entitlements for high-earning council bosses will be limited to curb costs, Communities and Local Government Secretary John Denham indicated today.

Councils will be required to publish details of the pay, pensions, bonuses and allowances given to top earners.

Mr Denham said he would also tackle the "boomerang bosses who walk away with huge payouts, straight into their next job".

At Labour's Brighton conference, he said that while the average pay of local government workers had gone up by £6,000 in seven years - for chief executives it had risen by £40,000 over the same period, with nine earning an average of £212,000 a year.

"Don't get me wrong. These are not bad people. Most have given their own lifetime of public service.

"But we all know. It's all got out of hand and it's just got to stop.

"I don't want to see the pay or pensions of local public servants dragged down by public anger at the excess of a few.

"I'm not joining the clamour of Clegg and Cameron to slash your pensions. But I do want to limit the pension entitlements of the very highest earners."