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COUNCILS have been accused of wasting millions of pounds of public money on pointless jobs, including a £23,000-a-year composting supervisor, a toothbrush adviser for infants and a ceremonial sword bearer.

An audit of local government positions, obtained under freedom of information legislation, reveals jobs that are far removed from the core remit of councils and appear to be of questionable value.

They include trampoline coaches, skate park attendants, flower arrangers, a “befriending co-ordinator” and a £15-an-hour yoga instructor.

Such roles, often the product of “political correctness” or the burgeoning health and safety culture, form part of a public sector that is expanding despite the downturn which has seen private workers face redundancies and pay freezes.

“There has been a huge boom in the number of unnecessary and bizarre jobs in local government in recent years,” said Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, a pressure group.

“Many of the posts are laughable, but they have a serious financial impact for taxpayers. The last thing we need in the middle of a recession is to have hundreds of ‘non-jobs’ on the public payroll soaking up taxpayers’ money.”

One of the worst offending councils is Newcastle upon Tyne, which employs a dedicated “breastfeeding peer support co-ordinator” — separate from midwives who usually give mothers advice on how to feed – and a “composting supervisor” who earns a salary of up to £23,470 to run a facility that turns garden waste into compost.

The council also employs a part-time sword bearer and mace bearer to clear the way for David Wood, the mayor, on ceremonial occasions.

Wood, who is the political agent of Nick Brown, the government’s chief whip, also has access to four chauffeur-butlers, collectively paid more than £60,000 a year.

A spokesman for the council, which will cut 500 jobs this year, mainly in management, claimed all its posts were “necessary and sensible roles”.

By this weekend The Sunday Times had received freedom of information responses from 118 councils whose “non-jobs” cost an estimated £800,000-a-year. Extrapolating for all 442 local authorities who were written to last month such posts would annually cost about £3m.

Many positions in local government have their origins in health and safety regulations. At the height of turmoil in the financial markets late last year, Tewkesbury council in Gloucestershire deemed it necessary to appoint a “falls prevention fitness adviser”, primarily to help elderly people.

In Scotland, Angus council employs a “bouncy castle attendant” on a salary of £13,000, while Falkirk pays a part-time “toothbrush assistant” £3,032 to teach nursery children how to clean their teeth. The council also employs a “cheerleading development officer”.

In Glasgow, taxpayers are funding a £17,000-a-year “street mediator” to deal with children hanging around on street corners, a florist on a £17,800 salary and a “chewing gum removal labourer”.

Some public sector posts are even more surreal. Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, which has increased council tax by an average of 3.95% in 2009-10, employs several part-time pianists at municipal events.

Windsor & Maidenhead in Berkshire, where council tax has risen by 1.9%, cannot do without the services of a “roller disco coach” every Saturday night, while the local authorities in Waveney, Suffolk, have recruited a £15-an-hour yoga instructor.

Last summer Redditch council in Worcestershire put a Punch and Judy performer on the payroll as part of a programme of summer activities. Tendring council in north Essex has recruited a part-time worker to compere tea dances at a leisure centre, while Burnley in Lancashire has a part-time flower arranger on the books.

Not content with children using their jumpers for goal-posts, Moray council in the Highlands appointed a street football co-ordinator last year. The post, with a £19,887 salary, was filled by Robert Bartlett.

Although councils are among the main recruiters of “non-jobs”, some roles are paid for by other publicly funded bodies.

The Local Government Association said councils provided vital services despite falling income.

A spokesman said: “From lollipop ladies to street cleaners and librarians, town halls employ people that provide more than 800 vital services that many local residents rely on to get through the day.”

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