Labour-run Ealing Council has said it published incorrect figures in its 2024-25 audited accounts, initially listing its chief executive’s salary as £242,371.
After being approached by EALING.NEWS, the council confirmed the correct figure is £222,525 — reducing the reported pay rise from 20.5 per cent to 10.6 per cent and prompting questions from opposition parties about the robustness of its reporting checks.
The Ealing Council Statement of Accounts for 2024-25 was signed on 26 February 2026 by chief executive Tony Clements and council leader Peter Mason, and audited externally by Forvis Mazars. The accounts also revealed dozens of senior staff at Ealing Council earn six-figure pay packets.
The 2024-25 figure was originally reported as £242,371, up from £201,195 the previous year and £192,465 when Mr Clements was appointed in summer 2022.
However, the council has since said the figure was incorrect and had not been amended in the final version of its audited accounts.
Speaking to EALING.NEWS, Darwin Friend, research director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Ealing residents will be highly suspicious over their council releasing incorrect numbers in audited annual accounts.
“Even with the council’s revised figure, the chief executive saw a pay rise of over £20,000 from last year.
“Accountability in local government is of paramount importance. It is hard to justify such massive remuneration packages for executives who cannot get their own numbers correct.”
An Ealing Council spokesperson told EALING.NEWS: “The figure that was quoted for 2024/25 was incorrect, but this was not corrected in the final version of the accounts for that year.
“The correct figure was £222,525. This included a backdated increment from 2023/24 which was paid retrospectively. The correct figures will be shown in the 2025/26 accounts.
“The chief executive’s salary for 2025/26 is £224,538. This has been benchmarked against comparable public sector organisations, reflecting the size, responsibilities and complexity of the role. Senior officer figures are published annually on the council’s website.”
The Ealing Council spokesperson added: “A clerical error was identified through post-publication checks and, in accordance with proper accounting practice, will be corrected by restating the 2024/25 disclosure note in the 2025/26 accounts when these are published. Staff salary rates, including the CEO, are published on the council website where they are correctly published for 2024/25.”
A spokesperson for auditors Forvis Mazars told EALING.NEWS: “For the 2024/25 Ealing Council accounts, Forvis Mazars issued a disclaimed audit opinion due to the time constraints created by the Government’s statutory backstop deadline of 27 February 2026. As a result, no assurance was provided on those accounts.”
Based on the corrected figure, Mr Clements’ salary rose by £21,330, or around 10.6 per cent, compared with the previous year.
For comparison, neighbouring councils show a similar picture. In Brent, the chief executive received a salary of £231,626, with £75,132 in pension contributions bringing total remuneration to £306,758. In Hillingdon, the chief executive was paid £227,103, with £54,732 in pension contributions bringing total remuneration to £281,835, while in Hammersmith & Fulham the role received £217,794 in salary and £44,866 in pension, for a total of £262,660.
His total pay package for 2024-25 which the council now says is correct was £271,750, consisting of £222,525 in salary, £48,956 in pension contributions and £269 in expenses and benefits in kind, based on the same published accounts.
Mr Clements rejoined Ealing Council in 2022, having previously worked at the authority between 2018 and 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was appointed executive director of regeneration and housing in April 2018 before becoming executive director of place, leaving the role in April 2020 with a reported £74,000 pay-out for loss of office.
Figures from the 2026 Town Hall Rich List, compiled by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, show that at least 39 employees in Ealing earned more than £100,000 last year. Of those, nine received over £150,000, while two earned more than £200,000.
Several senior directors are also paid well into six figures. Emily Hill, strategic director for resources, received a salary of £180,041, along with £39,444 in pension contributions, bringing her total remuneration to £219,485.
Robert South, strategic director for children, was paid £174,988 in salary, £38,497 in pension contributions and £162 in benefits in kind, taking his total remuneration to £213,648.
Amanda Askham, strategic director for strategy and change, received £165,238 in salary, £35,944 in pension contributions and £2,537 in benefits in kind, bringing her total remuneration to £203,718.
Kerry Stevens, strategic director for adults and public health, was paid £164,091 in salary and £35,944 in pension contributions, totalling £200,035.
Other senior roles include Rhian Davies, director of legal and democratic services, who received £184,490 in total remuneration, and Peter George, strategic director – economy and sustainability, who was paid £150,477 in salary and £33,105 in pension contributions, bringing his total to £183,582.
The figures come as Ealing Council increased council tax by 4.99 per cent earlier this month. The authority has also increased the allowances it pays councillors by 3.2 per cent, following approval at a full council meeting on 3 March.
Under the updated scheme, the basic allowance paid to councillors has risen from £13,329.46 to £13,756.00 a year, with the increase applying to all 70 councillors.
The leader of the Labour-run council, Councillor Peter Mason, now receives a total annual allowance of £76,570.52, including a special responsibility allowance that has risen from £60,866.78 to £62,814.52.
Neil Reynolds, chair of Ealing Green Party, said: “An increase in pay to almost a quarter of a million pounds for the chief executive shows how far Ealing Labour has lost its way. Whilst residents are being hit by a second year of inflation-busting tax increases, the best-paid employee at the council is getting a pay rise bigger than many people earn in a year. Vote Green on May 7 for a fairer Ealing.”
Craig Smith, leader of Ealing Community Independents, said: “At a time when many residents are struggling with rising costs, Ealing Council has chosen to hand its chief executive a pay rise of taking his salary to nearly a quarter of a million pounds – and placing him among the highest paid council executives in the UK.
“Ealing council taxpayers will rightly ask whether they’re getting value for money – because this isn’t about market rates for the job or attracting questionable ‘top talent’; it’s about priorities. Our council increases council tax, while cutting vital services in the borough – such as the 10 children’s centres that it cruelly voted to shut last year.
“When we’ve also seen the allowance of Council leader, Peter Mason, go up by over 77% since taking over in 2021, it’s clear the people of Ealing aren’t seeing the benefit. Public service should mean serving the public, not rewarding those at the top.”
Speaking to EALING.NEWS, Steve Chilcott, chair of Reform UK’s Ealing branch, said: “The pay increase to the Ealing Council CEO’s basic salary in just two years is a shocking and an inordinate increase. During this time Ealing Council has been slammed by a number of regulators and ombudsmen for its shambolic and appalling services.
“The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman highlighted systematic failures in Ealing Council’s service delivery and complaint resolution. The Housing Ombudsman Service also issued serious findings against the council, reporting severe maladministration and failure to act around things like damp and mould and repairs. Why is this appalling record of service delivery being rewarded with such a massive pay increase?”
He added: “Ealing Council is paying its CEO significantly more than many other councils across London. How is the CEO of Ealing worth so much more than these other boroughs? Whilst the tenants of Ealing Council suffer serious service failures causing them distress, illness and disadvantage, it seems that Ealing Labour councillors are rewarding their CEO for poor performance.”
