Government Tech Chiefs’ Six-Figure Salaries Exposed

The pay of several high-ranking government technology leaders has been published online as part of a wide-ranging plan by the coalition government to expose the earnings of top civil servants, in an effort to use public pressure to drive down the government wages bill.

The salary of every civil servant earning over £150,000 was published online on Monday by the Cabinet Office. Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, said the announcement was part of a programme to open up more government data to the general public.

“We are pulling back the curtains to let light into the corridors of power. By being open and accountable we can start to win back people’s trust. Openness will not be comfortable for us in government; but it will enable the public to hold our feet to the fire,” he said. “This way lies better government. Transparency is key to our efficiency drive, and will enable the public to help us to deliver better value for money in public spending.”

Commenting on the announcement, Prime Minister David Cameron said that other measures in the programme include all new central government ICT contracts to be published online from July 2010. “Greater transparency across government is at the heart of our shared commitment to enable the public to hold politicians and public bodies to account,” he said.

DWP IT director earns more than chief of defence

The published salary details include those of Joe Harley, IT director and chief information officer for the Department of Work and Pensions, who earns between £245,000 and £249,000 including taxable benefits and allowances – one of the most highly paid civil servants in government. According to the published list, Harley actually earns slightly more than Sir Jock Stirrup, chief of the defence staff who earns between £240,000 and £244,000.

Other high-earners named by the Cabinet Office include government CIO John Suffolk who earns between £205,000 and £209,000. Martin Bellamy, ICT director for the NHS, earns around £160,000 while Christine Connelly, NHS chief information officer, earns just over £200,000.

The publication of the salaries on Monday was part of a wider scheme to develop a Transparency Board to oversee the publication of government data online to help increase public scrutiny and control spending, according to the government. The board will include leading tech figures brought on board by the previous government including the creator of the web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

Transparency Board

Although the board is being characterised as a new initiative by the coalition government, it could also be seen as a continuation of policies put in place by the previous administration. Berners-Lee established a data sharing site – data.gov.uk – in January, along with Professor Nigel Shadbolt from the University of Southhampton.

The data site is based on a new, open licence which apparently allows government-owned data to be freely used by anyone. “Making public data available for re-use is about increasing accountability and transparency and letting people create new, innovative ways of using it,” said Berners-Lee at the time.

Tom Steinberg, founder of open government organisation mySociety will also sit on the board. Steinberg was appointed as an adviser to the Tories in October last year. Commenting on his appointment, Steinberg said that the role was separate to his work for mySociety. “It is me that is doing the advising, not mySociety. And mySociety is strictly non-partisan. This partisanship is guaranteed by a range of trustees, staff and volunteers of an almost ungovernable independence who would rather see me burned at a stake than change one line of code to benefit a political party,” he said.