'£1 in every £5 paid in council tax spent on staff pensions'

The TaxPayers’ Alliance, which carried out the research, calculated that employer contributions equated to £1 out of every £5 gathered in council tax.

The report also found that more than 230 councillors in the North-East and North Yorkshire had enrolled on local authority pension schemes, even though serving on a council has traditionally been regarded as a voluntary activity and not a job.

The figures show Durham County Council paid out £54m in contributions during 2010-11 – among the highest totals in the country.

The authority had 29 councillors enrolled on its pension scheme. In contrast, no councillors from Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Richmondshire and Ryedale were signed up to their schemes.

The report also calculated how much residents paid last year towards their local authority’s pension scheme.

The highest was Middlesbrough at £118.27 per person.

Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “These gold-plated retirement deals have all but disappeared in the private sector and it simply isn’t sustainable to keep the system as it is.

“The figures show the urgent need to reform the outdated local government pension scheme and tackle the growing trend of councillors joining.”

In response, Don McLure, corporate director of resources at Durham County Council, said: “Employer contributions are set by a professional body every three years when the pension fund is reviewed.

“The council has both a statutory obligation and a duty to follow the guidance given.”

Darlington Borough Council said the report did not take into account the number of employees each local authority had.

A spokesman said: “The cost of pensions is a reflection of the nationally agreed scheme, which is currently being reviewed by the Government to reduce the costs.”

North Yorkshire County Council said that less than four per cent of its total spend was paid as employer pension contributions – amounting to £1 in every £26.

A spokesman added: “Less than one third of our councillors are in the pension scheme – again well below the national average – and the number has reduced in recent years to 20.”