WALTHAM Forest Council needs a new chief executive - and is prepared to pay the lucky candidate more than the Prime Minister.

The job is being advertised with a salary of up to £200,000. The authority has been paying between £179,000 and £239,000 for consultant Roger Taylor since former chief executive Jacqui Dean left.

The successful applicant could take home £16,000 more than the our PM's basic rate last year, and the pay scale has gone up £40,000 since June, when it was a more modest £148,776 to £159,048.

In its advertisement, the council asks for a "confident, inspiring and experienced chief executive who can deal with the huge challenge of creating and maintaining a sustainable community in the most deprived part of the fastest changing capital in Europe".

Candidates will need to be on their toes to keep up with "one of the fastest improving councils in England" which is at "the vanguard of community cohesion" and an Olympic borough.

The new chief executive will also need to be good at making savings - or "maximising efficiencies" - and contracting out services - or "initiating new partnerships for service delivery."

But the salary has prompted criticism, as the advert has been placed at a time when wages and council services are being cut to save money.

Waltham Forest representative of public sector union, Unison, Dave Knight, said the sum offered was "despicable".

He added: "That's quite a leap above the Government's 2.5 per cent point pay rise they're offering to the rest of us. It's appaling."

Low paid manual workers are threatening strike action over possible pay cuts of up to £8,000 per year under the council's single status plans, which aims to equalise pay for similar levels of work.

Rates of pay for chief executives vary wildly across the country.

Reading Council is also looking for a chief executive, and paying up to £154,000 and Barnet, in north London, is offering £120,000 plus a bonus of up to ten per cent.

Neighbouring boroughs pay a lot more. Newham is currently recruiting at up to £200,000, and Enfield's chief executive earns between £156,000 to £184,000 plus a performance-related bonus of up to £18,000. Hackney's chief executive is on £174,000.

Mr Knight said it did not matter if it was the going rate for the job.

He said: "What we think would be best for Waltham Forest is a candidate that cares about Waltham Forest.

"I'm concerned about the idea that we need to recruit just on the basis of the money you make."

Cllr Clyde Loakes said that the successful candidate would act as the guardian of almost £1 billion of public money.

"It is less than the figure recommended by the independent Hay job evaluation scheme. It is also a salary we believe will attract the high calibre candidates that we feel the job requires.

"This job is absolutely vital to ensuring we achieve our goals of creating and maintaining a strong community and transforming the life chances of our residents."