[Ed: The BBC’s Panorama programme said that more than 9,000 civil servants in the UK earn more than the prime minister, who is on £142,000 a year.] Points to consider:

1. Most senior level public sector roles are filled from the public sector. It’s a merry-go-round!
2. Public sector organisations are not any more complex than large private sector businesses.
3. Large private sector businesses are subject to a higher level of scrutiny by the board, shareholders, analysts and the press.
4. Surely if they still need visionary leaders, the pay policy that has been used has not attracted the right people.
5. Private sector top management is generally paid a reasonable salary and a high incentive bonus based on performance. No performance, no bonus and quite possibly no job.
6. If these highly-paid public sector executives are so good, why don’t headhunters look to bring them back to the private sector? In my experience clients are not interested and see them as not commercial in their thinking.

I would suggest that the best management is not available to the public sector because they are not prepared to tolerate the meddling by ministers, civil servants and councils, the union strangleholds, the Spanish practices and the complacency of the staff. The problem is both philosophical and structural. Money will not make it go away.
John Watts