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More than 560 council council and schools staff were earning at least £50,000 last year, new figures show.

Schools staff on more than £50,000 rose from 299 in 2009/10 to 338 in 2010/11, a rise of 13 per cent, while the number of Oxfordshire County Council staff on more than £50,000 rose from 225 to 230.

The figures pre-date the Government imposed public sector pay freeze that began in April 2011.

TaxPayers’ Alliance spokesman Emma Boon said: “Figures like this are very worrying for taxpayers.

“Salaries shouldn’t be rising at a time when budgets are so tight.”

Exact salaries have not been revealed, only the number of staff in each wage bracket of £5,000.

But the schools bill – which the council has no control over – would have risen from £17.2m to £19.4m if all were at the bottom of each £5,000 bracket.

Tony Draper, south central spokes-man for the National Association of Headteachers, defended the salaries.

He said: “They are being paid less than lawyers or bankers or similar roles in the private sector.”

Governors had to decide pay, he said. “Senior staff have to achieve a series of performance targets to be able to get a pay increase.

“They don’t automatically go up the pay scale.”

Oxford Spires Academy principal Sue Croft was surprised by the increase. She said: “Teachers work very hard and do a very good job and certainly my senior team are worth every penny.”

Jim Couchman, county council cabinet member for finance and property, said: “We have no control over what schools do. They are a law unto themselves.”

County council pay rises pre-dated the Government’s June 2010 emergency budget, and he said this year’s pay bill “will show a very different position”.

All public sector wages over £21,000 have been frozen for two years from April 2011.

The average UK salary is estimated to be £26,000.

At Labour-run Oxford City Council, the number of staff earning more than £50,000 fell from 30 to 26, and from 19 to eight at South Oxfordshire District Council. City council chief executive Peter Sloman’s pay fell from £141,031 to £140,000.

West Oxfordshire, Cherwell and Vale of White Horse district councils have yet to publish figures.