Vice-chancellors of large research-intensive universities in the UK¡¯s Russell Group were paid?nearly ?332,000 on average in the past academic year, a Times Higher Education analysis shows.

With the high pay of university leaders in the spotlight in recent months, financial accounts published by the organisation¡¯s 24 members put the average?salary and benefits of a Russell Group vice-chancellor at ?331,641 in 2016-17.

Once employer pension contributions are included, the average cost of pay packages stood at ?355,670.

However, the accounts show that the average remuneration paid to leaders of the UK¡¯s top universities is virtually unchanged from 2015-16 ¨C up by just 0.02 per cent on average, or by 0.1 per cent if pension payments are considered.

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One of the biggest rises was at Newcastle University, where there was a 12.6 per cent year-on-year increase equal to ?40,000 in 2016-17, when its cost of office was ?356,000. The university said that the uplift follows a review of executive remuneration last year, which led to it no longer providing a house for the vice-chancellor or enhanced pension payments. Its current vice-chancellor, Chris Day, who took over from Chris Brink in December 2016, is paid a salary of ?306,000 a year.

At some universities, including the London School of Economics, the cost of office fell substantially last year because they had an interim vice-chancellor for much of the academic year, at lower cost.

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Top 10 highest-paid vice-chancellors in the Russell Group, 2016-17

* Excludes long-term bonus plan with maximum value of ?80,000, payable at the end of 2019-20

** Now retired

Source: Institutional accounts. All figures rounded to nearest ?100

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There were no large pay-offs and fewer changes in leaders in 2016-17 than in 2015-16, which inflated overall remuneration that year. Once universities where leadership changeovers led to increased costs in one year or the recruitment of a new vice-chancellor on a lower salary are excluded from calculations, the average pay rise in 2016-17 was 2.7 per cent.

The modest increases in vice-chancellor pay within the Russell Group may help to dampen criticism of executive remuneration in higher education, which hit its peak when THE?revealed that Bath Spa¡¯s outgoing vice-chancellor Christina Slade was paid more than ?800,000 in her final year in office last year, including a ?429,000 pay-off for ¡°loss of office¡±.

However, Lord Adonis, the Labour peer who has led criticism of what he calls ¡°excessive vice-chancellor pay¡±, said that this minimal increase in average remuneration was ¡°neither here nor there¡± in the bigger picture.

Average remuneration around ?355,000 was ¡°far too high¡±, said Lord Adonis, adding that ¡°it should be cut to no more than ?200,000.¡±

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Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, said that its members agreed that they needed to ¡°take a lead in acting responsibly on this issue in order to regain the confidence of staff, students and the wider public¡±. The key was to ¡°ensure the process for pay-setting arrangements is as rigorous and transparent as possible¡±, he said.

¡°No one would argue that Russell Group vice-chancellors aren¡¯t well remunerated for the difficult job they perform. However, the value our universities bring to the UK economy, society and culture is vast¡±, and the role is ¡°very challenging and increasingly multifaceted¡±, Dr Bradshaw continued, which meant that it was important to ¡°attract and hold on to the right people to run these large, complex, global operations to deliver the best outcomes for their students and to society at large¡±.

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com