This is how much the highest-paid Lancashire county and district council staff receive

The data was compiled by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, a right-of-centre pressure group which campaigns for lower taxes and publishes its so-called “Town Hall Rich List” every year.

The highest-earning local government official at any Lancashire authority was County Hall’s chief executive Angie Ridgwell, whose salary amounted to £206,000. She also fulfils the role of director of resources and did not receive any pension benefits for the year in question.

There are ten other officers at the county council whose remuneration ranged from £109,000 to £160,000.

The latter figure was the combined pay and pension package received by the authority’s second-highest earner, executive director of adult services and health and wellbeing Louise Taylor - who is responsible for the service area which accounts for the largest share of Lancashire County Council’s budget.

Three of the highest-earning officers are not identified either by name or role in the published data. Another three have a basic salary of below £100,000, but appear on the list because their pension contributions pushed them above that amount overall.

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said: "Senior officers’ pay is intended to reflect their responsibilities, skills, and experience and ensure the best people possible are in these key positions.

"The senior management structure of the county council has been streamlined in recent years, which has also put us in a much better position to deal with the present COVID-19 crisis."

At district authority level in East Lancashire, Burnley Council does not appear on the list - either because they did not pay anybody above £100,000 or their data was not published by the time the TaxPayers’ Alliance conducted its research.

Pendle Council's chief exceutive was handed £116,000 during 2018/19 - £15,000 of which was in pension benefits. The role was one of two at the authority to earn over £100,000, the other being the corporate director (a £107,000 package, including £14,000 in pension benefits).

At Ribble Valley Council, the chief executive was one of three people to earn six figures in a year (£130,000, including £17,000 pension benefits), with the director of resources and director of community services receiving £107,000 and £100,000 respectively - each including £13,000 pension benefits.

Hyndburn Council had two staff on the list - the authority's deputy chief executive (£118,000) and chief executive, who recived £148,000 - £18,000 of which was in pension benefits.

Rossendale Council had just one employee earning over £100,000 - the authority's chief executive who received £119,000, £15,000 of which was in pension benefits.

John O'Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “The coronavirus crisis means that frontline council services are more crucial than ever, but at the same time household budgets face an enormous squeeze from crushing council tax rises.

“There are plenty of talented people in local authorities who are focused on delivering more for less, but that is needed across the board. The country needs every council to cut out waste and prioritise key services without resorting to punishing tax hikes on their residents.

“These figures should shine a light on the town hall bosses who’ve got it right, but also allow taxpayers to hold to account those who aren’t delivering value for money at this critical time.”

The organisation found that at least 2,667 people employed by local authorities in 2018-19 received more than £100,000 - an increase of nine percent on the previous twelve months.

A total of 667 employees received over £150,000, while 32 earned more than a quarter of a million pounds.