NHS denies fat cat claim over chief executive
5:08pm Thursday 27th November 2008 in Where I Live
THE NHS has hit back at claims that a local health boss is taking home a 'fat cat' salary.
Figures unveiled on Monday (Nov 24) by campaign group The Taxpayers' Alliance in a 'public sector rich list' reveal that Nick Carver, the chief executive at the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, earned £156,000 in the last tax year, placing him as the 333rd-highest paid boss in the pubic services industry.
The figure includes a benefits-in-kind payment of £1,000 - and represents a 6.8 per cent annual pay rise.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "While ordinary families are suffering in the financial crisis, the public sector elite are enjoying record pay packages.
"Where someone is earning huge amounts at taxpayers' expense they must be accountable to the people who pay the bill and who rely on the services they run.
"We all deserve to know how our money is being spent, and people should have the right to decide if they are getting value for money."
A spokesman for the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, which serves around 500,000 people, including residents of Bishop's Stortford, said: ""The Trust, with over 5,000 staff and an annual budget approaching nearly £300 million, is major organisation on a par with many companies operating on a national basis. As such it one of the largest employers in Hertfordshire.
"The Trust's chief executive, Nick Carver, is paid in line with guidance issued nationally on the remuneration of such senior NHS staff.
"The information published by the Tax Payers’ Alliance is not new in that Mr Carver's remuneration is published annually through the Trust's annual report and accounts, which is available for all to see through its website."
