The number of civil servants earning more than £150,000 - which is a higher salary than the Prime Minister - has doubled since the Coalition took power and now stands at 316. Many officials have seen their salaries rise by more than the one per cent cap imposed on the public sector since 2012. The Tax Payers' Alliance has described the growing number of high earners as 'unacceptable'- insisting the 'bill must come down'. Public sector fatcats: 316 officials now earn more than £150,000 a year. The Prime Minister's annual salary currently stands at £142,500 . David Cameron has also criticised the hike in pay and banned salaries rising faster than inflation until 2018. The Prime Minister earns £142,500 a year but the Ministry of Defence currently has 21 staff on more than that, reports The Sun on Sunday. Meanwhile the Department of Health has 111 employees earning more than £150,000. And many others employed by the NHS and Department of Health also command giant salaries - some earning as much as double the Prime Minister's salary. Well paid: Andrew Haines, Chief Executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, earns £300,000 a year . In the last year alone 108 public sector officials joined the 208 already on the list of 'high earners'. Ian Nolan - Head of Fund Investments at Green Investment Bank . Salary: 330,000 . Shaun Kingsbury - CEO, Green Investment Bank . Salary: 325,000 . Andrew Haines - Chief Executive of the Civil Aviation Authority . Salary: 300,000 . William Burton - Interim Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Training Board . Salary: £285,000 . Sir Nicholas Houghton - Chief of Defence Staff, Ministry of Defence . Salary: 245,000 . Source: Cabinet Office . Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the Taxpaers' Alliance, said: 'Coalition figures promised this would be an austerity government, but the huge increase in Whitehall tycoons suggests otherwise. 'Most workers in the public sector are feeling the pinch from a necessary pay freeze, and they'll wonder why those at the top appear immune to the same financial discipline. 'This bill must come down.' While the number of high earning civil servants is on the rise George Osborne continues to impose a pay freeze on public sector workers lower down the pecking order. This week health workers warned the Government there would be a new wave of strikes in the new year over the pay freeze. Unison announced that its NHS members in England will walk out for 12 hours from 9am on January 29, while ambulance workers in the GMB union in England and Northern Ireland will strike on January 29 and 30. Big earner: Sir Nicholas Houghton, Chief of Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence (left), earns £245,000 annually - around £100,000 more than the Prime Minuster . Lucrative: Shaun Kingsbury, CEO of Green Investment Bank, earns £325,000 a year as a civil servant . Department of Health: 111 . Department of Transport: 24 . Ministry of Defence: 21 . Cabinet Office: 15 . Department of Business, Innovation and Skills: 12 . Home Office: 9 . Department of Energy, Climate and Change: 8 . Foreign and Commonwealth Office: 7 . Other: 109 . The dispute has been raging all year after the Government decided not to accept a recommended one per cent pay rise for all NHS staff. Unison said its members will stage a second strike, for 24 hours, on February 24. NHS staff will also launch a work to rule between January 30 and February 24, including refusing to do unpaid overtime and making sure they take their breaks. A Department of Health spokesperson said: 'This is disappointing. NHS staff are our greatest asset and we want to make the current pay system fairer - which is why we have put forward proposals that would guarantee all staff would get at least a one pay rise this year and next, but these have been rejected by the unions. 'We have taken tough decisions to increase the NHS budget, but we can't afford a consolidated pay rise in addition to increments without risking 10,000 frontline jobs.'
There are now 316 civil servants earning more than PM's £142,500 salary .
MOD employs 21 of the high earners with many others employed by NHS .
The Tax Payers' Alliance described rise in top earners as 'unacceptable'
The number of civil servants earning more than £150,000 - which is a higher salary than the Prime Minister - has doubled since the Coalition took power and now stands at 316. Many officials have seen their salaries rise by more than the one per cent cap imposed on the public sector since 2012. The Tax Payers' Alliance has described the growing number of high earners as 'unacceptable'- insisting the 'bill must come down'. Public sector fatcats: 316 officials now earn more than £150,000 a year. The Prime Minister's annual salary currently stands at £142,500 . David Cameron has also criticised the hike in pay and banned salaries rising faster than inflation until 2018. The Prime Minister earns £142,500 a year but the Ministry of Defence currently has 21 staff on more than that, reports The Sun on Sunday. Meanwhile the Department of Health has 111 employees earning more than £150,000. And many others employed by the NHS and Department of Health also command giant salaries - some earning as much as double the Prime Minister's salary. Well paid: Andrew Haines, Chief Executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, earns £300,000 a year . In the last year alone 108 public sector officials joined the 208 already on the list of 'high earners'. Ian Nolan - Head of Fund Investments at Green Investment Bank . Salary: 330,000 . Shaun Kingsbury - CEO, Green Investment Bank . Salary: 325,000 . Andrew Haines - Chief Executive of the Civil Aviation Authority . Salary: 300,000 . William Burton - Interim Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Training Board . Salary: £285,000 . Sir Nicholas Houghton - Chief of Defence Staff, Ministry of Defence . Salary: 245,000 . Source: Cabinet Office . Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the Taxpaers' Alliance, said: 'Coalition figures promised this would be an austerity government, but the huge increase in Whitehall tycoons suggests otherwise. 'Most workers in the public sector are feeling the pinch from a necessary pay freeze, and they'll wonder why those at the top appear immune to the same financial discipline. 'This bill must come down.' While the number of high earning civil servants is on the rise George Osborne continues to impose a pay freeze on public sector workers lower down the pecking order. This week health workers warned the Government there would be a new wave of strikes in the new year over the pay freeze. Unison announced that its NHS members in England will walk out for 12 hours from 9am on January 29, while ambulance workers in the GMB union in England and Northern Ireland will strike on January 29 and 30. Big earner: Sir Nicholas Houghton, Chief of Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence (left), earns £245,000 annually - around £100,000 more than the Prime Minuster . Lucrative: Shaun Kingsbury, CEO of Green Investment Bank, earns £325,000 a year as a civil servant . Department of Health: 111 . Department of Transport: 24 . Ministry of Defence: 21 . Cabinet Office: 15 . Department of Business, Innovation and Skills: 12 . Home Office: 9 . Department of Energy, Climate and Change: 8 . Foreign and Commonwealth Office: 7 . Other: 109 . The dispute has been raging all year after the Government decided not to accept a recommended one per cent pay rise for all NHS staff. Unison said its members will stage a second strike, for 24 hours, on February 24. NHS staff will also launch a work to rule between January 30 and February 24, including refusing to do unpaid overtime and making sure they take their breaks. A Department of Health spokesperson said: 'This is disappointing. NHS staff are our greatest asset and we want to make the current pay system fairer - which is why we have put forward proposals that would guarantee all staff would get at least a one pay rise this year and next, but these have been rejected by the unions. 'We have taken tough decisions to increase the NHS budget, but we can't afford a consolidated pay rise in addition to increments without risking 10,000 frontline jobs.'
The number of civil servants earning more than since 2012. The Tax Payers' Alliance has described the growing number of high earners as £150,000. And many others employed by the NHS and