AN MP has accused Bradford Council of “waste and bureaucracy” after discovering it has 42 different job levels.

Shipley Conservative Philip Davies put in a freedom of information request to establish the structure of the thousands of posts at the authority.

It showed there were 42 levels, from Band 1 (£12,435) and labourer (£12,841) all the way up to something called SD1 (£130,181 to £136,480) and then chief executive (£178,476).

Raising the issue in the Commons, Mr Davies attacked the complicated structure as a waste of money which denied workers a clear pathway to climb the career ladder.

He told ministers: “When I worked for Asda, there was something like eight or nine levels between the most junior role and the chief executive.

“I have just done a freedom of information to Bradford Council to find out they have 42 different job levels within that local authority.

“An awful lot of money could be saved by cutting out some of those job levels and create a much needed career path for people who start at the bottom and see how they can reach the top - something that often happens in supermarkets but very seldom happens in local authorities.”

But Tony Reeves, Bradford Council’s chief executive, hit back, arguing the MP had misunderstood the reply to his request.

He said: “We have five layers of management in the organisation, which we regularly keep under review in line with good practice in the private sector.

“There are 42 different salary bands but this does not mean there are 42 job levels in the authority.

“We would be more than happy to meet with Mr Davies and give him any information he would like about our management structures in the council.”

In the Commons, Mr Davies won support from William Hague, the Commons Leader, who said he made a “powerful point.”

He added: “There have been many efficiency savings in many local authorities over the past four years.

“Indeed, in the best-run local authorities, layers of management have been taken out and there have been huge administrative savings, but that has not been uniform across the country.

“The pressure on local authorities to conduct efficient administration without excessive layers of management must continue.”