Revealed: employee of controversial Catholic MAT saw their pay and pensions soar to £240,000 – but salary was not properly disclosed in its accounts

The Diocese of Westminster Academy Trust appears to have failed to follow DfE accounting directions by stating only that it had one person paid “£150,001+”.

A multi-academy trust which is part of a Catholic diocese’s controversial drive to academise its schools appears to have failed to follow DfE guidance on the disclosure of senior salaries, making its accounts unclear that it has one staff member whose salary may have been well above £150,000.

The Diocese of Westminster Academy Trust (DOWAT), which is ultimately controlled by the Archbishop of Westminster, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, stated in its latest-published accounts that its highest-paid person in 2024-25 received “£150,001+” in salary.

This is against a DfE accounting direction to academy trusts, which states that such disclosures should be made to the nearest £10,000. A separate disclosure by the trust, accessible on its website and revealing pay packages including pensions payments, shows that one person received £240-£250,000 in 2024-25.

The trust has been approached for comment.