Councillors' Allowances and Expenses

The Council Constitution includes a Members' Allowance Scheme that sets out the allowances paid to Councillors and co-opted members. Co-opted members are people chosen to represent specific skills or abilities needed by a committee. They are not elected members of the Council, and are appointed because of their level of expertise (eg headteachers or doctors).

The allowance is in recognition of the time that they spend on Council-related activities, such as meetings.

The scheme includes a basic allowance which is paid to all Councillors, special responsibility allowances, and also sets out how much can be claimed for travel, subsistence and dependent carer costs.

For full details of the allowances paid to our Councillors for the 2023/24 financial year, please see  Councillor' Allowance Payments 1 May 2023 to 30 April 2024 [403KB] . You can view allowances for previous years at the bottom of this page.

Councillors should also register any gifts or items of hospitality worth over £25 that they receive in connection with their official duties as a Councillor. You can view the Members' Register of Gifts and Hospitality. Copies of Councillors' allowances and gifts and hospitality are also available for inspection at our offices by appointment.
 

Independent Review of Councillors' Allowances

The Independent Remuneration Panel met in June 2024 and recommended that the Basic Allowance be increased to £8,768.  View a copy of the IRP Report online [651KB] .