More than 550 public sector 'fat cats' are on over £174,000… despite Treasury trimming numbers on 'high earner' list by raising threshold

More than 550 public sector workers are on packages worth over £174,000 a year, the Government has revealed.

A 'high earners' list covering Whitehall and quangos has been published by the Cabinet Office for the first time in three years.

However, the number of people in the category has been trimmed - because the threshold for appearing on the roll call has been pushed up by £25,000.

That brings it into line with Keir Starmer's total remuneration as Prime Minister - including MP salary.  

HS2 chief executive Mark Wild topped the latest list, earning between £660,000 and £665,000 as of last September. 

The head of Network Rail, Andrew Haines, was on £585,000 to £590,000.

He was replaced by Jeremy Westlake, who entered the list on £555,000-£550,000 in August last year. 

Nick Elliott, the chief executive of AWE - which oversees the nuclear deterrent - was listed as earning £585,000 to £590,000.

National Highways boss Nicholas Harris also featured with remuneration of up to £400,000. 

Dame Antonia Romeo, who has now been promoted to Cabinet Secretary, was being paid £205,000 to £210,000 as the top civil servant at the Home Office. 

The chief executive of Ed Miliband's new GB Energy, Daniel McGrail, was recorded as on a £350,000 to £350,000 package. 

John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Taxpayers are sick of seeing the ranks of senior civil servants continue to expand while services continue to suffer.

'Britain's bureaucracy looks increasingly like a potemkin vilage with an elite of highly paid staff acting as a facade for a failing institution, which is continuously letting down households.

'Radical reform of the civil service is needed, including significant cuts to the number of employees, and a dramatic shift in the rotten culture.'

The last public sector high earners list had a threshold of £150,000 and included 664 people as of September 2023. 

It is understood the level has been lifted in line with the Treasury's 'senior pay control', which was increased in June 2025. Salaries above that threshold need to be explicitly signed off by the Chief Secretary. 

The Cabinet Office said the list represents 0.1 per cent of public sector jobs.  

A spokeswoman said: 'We need to ensure we can attract high-calibre people to the civil service and salaries must be competitive with the wider public and private sectors.

'Pay must always be justified and deliver full value for money for the taxpayer, so it is absolutely right that we publish this information and allow it to be scrutinised.'