Chairmen’s pay climbed by more than twice the level of inflation during last year, while non-executive directors’ pay rose on average more than three times the level of inflation.

That is in spite of the demands on the time of non-executive directors levelling off in the past year, according to a survey of 250 company chairmen and non-executives by MM&K, a remuneration consultancy, and Hanson Green, a recruitment firm.