Merton Council's cash-strapped education team hired a temporary assistant director of education for three months this year on an annual rate of about £1,000 a day - more than the Prime Minister.

The revelation comes a year after the council vowed to "limit" the number of senior staff members employed in temporary posts following an independent audit into a whistleblower's allegations of overpayments to temporary consultants. 

Heather Tomlinson was controversially hired by Birmingham City Council in 2010 on a salary of £208,000 - months after retiring from a full-time position at Bristol City Council where her salary was about £120,000.

Merton Council hired her from January and April 1 this year after it could not find anyone to fill the position permanently.

It comes in the same year as the council's department for children, schools and families has been told it must find £5m of savings in the next five years as a result of funding cuts from central government.

Posey Furnish, chair of governors at Joseph Hood Primary School, said: "That's revolting. In schools we are all struggling because there's no money and I would really question what sort of value for money did she represent."

She added: "We are being very creative because we are being told there's no money...and when someone's being paid £1,000 a day - she must have made a huge difference which wasn't felt to have filtered down."

The council has since found someone to fill the position permanently on a salary of about £115,000 a year - which compares to Miss Tomlinson's annual rate of £184,000 a year. Prime Minister David Cameron's annual salary is about £142,000 a year.

Caroline Holland, director of corporate services, said: "Sometimes it is necessary for us to employ interim staff to cover specialist senior management positions for a period of time, so that we can ensure continuity in how services are delivered while we go out to recruit for a particular role.

"Rates between interim and permanent staff vary depending on the market rate and we regularly review all interim positions so they're kept to a minimum."

The Wimbledon Guardian can also reveal the council has been employing a head of commercial services on a salary of between £145,000 and £150,000 a year since November 2012.

If he was a permanent member of staff, his salary would be just under £100,000, so he is costing the taxpayer between £45,000 and £50,000 a year.

Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers will be rightly questioning why someone on such an expensive temporary contract stayed around for so long, costing a fortune.

"Temporary contracts can be useful to fill short-term posts but they shouldn't be allowed to drag on like this when taxpayers' are picking up the tab.”

Twenty senior officers are currently in temporary posts.

Last year Ernst and Young was hired to investigate the council's employment of people on temporary contracts after a whistleblower alleged the council was making fraudulent payments of £1.29m to staff in interim posts.

March 2014: Merton Council to tighten rules after 'corruption' report

The report found no evidence of fraud or corruption, but revealed that tens of thousands of pounds more was paid for interim staffing posts in comparison to the equivalent salary of someone who was in the role permanently.

Conservative Councillor David Simpson said: "I really think it is up to the administration of the reigning Labour group to get a grip on officers and to lead by example and ensure that council taxpayers' money is used to proper effect and paying somebody the rate of £150,000 since 2012 on a temporary contract is not the sort of thing that I would expect."

Councillor Mark Allison, cabinet member for finance, has previously addressed the issue, saying: "It's for the good running of the council that we keep posts filled where we can.

"If we can't recruit them on a full-time basis then they should be filled."

Got an opinion? Comment below, or email louisa.clarence@london.newsquest.co.uk.