Town Hall Rich List shows the top earners at Sunderland City Council in 2023/24

Sign up to our daily newsletter Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Sunderland Echo, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. The latest figures from the TaxPayers’ Alliance Town Hall Rich List have revealed the top earners in local authorities across the UK for 2023/24. In Sunderland , 18 senior workers received salaries of more than £100,000.

Advertisement Advertisement Alongside pension contributions and expenses, the total amount that the group of top earners received throughout 2023/24 was £2,498,956. According to the report, Patrick Melia, the chief executive of Sunderland City Council , was the highest earner at the council last year, receiving a total of £240,734 - £203,273 in salary, £3,443 in expenses and £34,018 in pension contributions. The next highest earner was Peter McIntyre, the executive director of city development, with a salary of £161,482, expenses of £3,284 plus pension contributions of £25,493, meaning a total of £191,632.



A full breakdown of the report in Sunderland is as follows: Read Sunderland’s latest news and sport on the go with the Echo’s email newsletters - sign up online today Advertisement Advertisement Nationally, the 2025 Town Hall Rich List has found that a record 3,906 officials received more than £100,000, with 1,092 of them receiving over £150,000 - another record. John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s a record breaking year in many respects for taxpayers as the country hurtles towards a record tax burden, all while the public sector continues to feather its nest. “As our latest town hall rich list demonstrates, the number of council staff with six-figure remuneration packages has surged at the same time that services are being slashed and council tax is being hiked above inflation.

“Local residents can look up their own authority in our list and judge the quality of services and their council tax bill against the pay packets of their council bosses.” Advertisement Advertisement You can view the full data by visiting: https://www.taxpayersalliance.

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