However Ralph Tabberer, chief executive of the Teacher Training Agency, is paid less than his predecessor Anthea Millett. In her last full year at the agency she earned more than pound;101,000 including pension contributions.

She also collected an pound;8,000 bonus which was included in the pound;81,000 which she was paid for her final months in office from April to December 1999.

The accounts, published by the agency in time for its annual meeting on Monday, show that the agency’s administration costs have risen 20 per cent - from pound;5.4m to nearly pound;6.5m. This is despite the handover of responsibility for headteacher training to the Department for Education and Employment and the National Cllege for School Leadership.

A TTA spokesman said the rise was due to an increase in staffing, from 92 to 99 people (now up to 130), and the extra office space needed to accommodate them.

The agency has also updated its computer systems and employed temporary staff for projects, such as developing and piloting numeracy tests for student teachers.

Other top earners at the TTA in 199900 included Mike Mercer, board secretary and head of funding and corporate planning, on pound;77,000; and Frank Martin, principal establishment and finance officer, appointed in January 1999, on pound;73,000.

Frankie Sulke, head of teacher training, earned pound;76,000, while new communications director Anna Campopiano got pound;71,000. Jane Benham, the former head of teacher supply and recruitment who left last January, was paid pound;70,000.