A veil of secrecy is drawn over pay negotiations for senior officers at Oxfordshire County Council.

But since council salaries are paid from the public purse, does the public not have a right to know how their money is spent?

If it is true that the salary of the chief executive, Dr Richard Shaw, is to rise by 15 per cent to £150,000 a year, council taxpayers would be entitled to see a better return for their money in the services the county provides.

The jury is still out on whether they do.

Other council staff will no doubt have questions to ask, not least those who hold the department directorships set up by Dr Shaw. A knock-on effect down the chain is inevitable.

Finally you can be sure the hard-pressed council taxpayers, after increases of 13.4 per cent and 6.25 per cent, will not be best pleased. It would seem that with all this behind-closed-doors negotiating going on, they are the last to be considered.