There have been some mind-boggling increases in pay at Oxford City Council over the last two years. These are historic figures (albeit recent history) and we would like to think that they would not be contemplated today.

That said, is it possible to ever justify increases of that type? The squeeze on public finances has been coming for some time, pre-dated by a general concern about excessive pay for senior public servants.

The Town Hall figures do not look good and we expect there will be a chorus of disapproval.

This week, of all weeks, we are highly conscious of the difficult road ahead. The Government has told us we will all have to take our share of the burden. The private sector has already experienced a couple of years of pay restraint and it is only fair that that should now be shared by the public sector.

However, one can imagine the feelings of most public sector workers when they see the example set by their leaders.

Members of the coalition Government signalled this week that there should be an end to excessive pay at the top of the public sector. Some might say the horse has already bolted.