West Northamptonshire councillors set to vote on whether they should get a 2.5 percent increase in their allowances

Reform-led West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) is expected to vote on a new pay scheme that could cost more than £1.66 million a year, according to a report going to Full Council this week.

The proposal includes raising the basic allowance for all 76 councillors to £16,454.33 from July 2025 – an increase of 2.5 percent in line with national public sector pay awards. The increase would equate to around £400 per councillor.

On top of this, councillors in senior roles would continue to receive extra pay for their responsibilities, ranging from £8,000 to more than £40,000 per year, according to the report.

Here are a few key examples of proposed extra payments:

• Council Leader: £41,135

• Deputy Leader: £28,795

• Cabinet Members: £24,681

• Committee Chairs: £16,454

• Chair of the Council: £12,340

• Vice-Chair: £8,227

• Opposition group leaders: between £1,605 and £12,842

The new scheme has been put together by an Independent Remuneration Panel, who also recommend meal and care expenses continue to be reimbursed for councillors – including £8 for breakfast, £20 for dinner, and up to £30/hour for professional carers for dependent relatives.

The total cost of the plan is estimated at £1,660,837, but this depends on how many councillors take on multiple roles (only one allowance can be claimed per person).

Council officers say the raise is still within budget due to a reduction in councillor numbers – down from 93 to 76 due to boundary changes, creating an annual saving of £322,000, according to the report.

Reacting, Independent councillor Julie Davenport, who has the highest workload recorded in the past four years at WNC, says taxpayers deserve to know what councillors are doing to earn their money.

Councillor Davenport said: "Some councillors work very hard for their allowances but many do not. I do think that with the allowance from the taxpayer councils should start publishing the work every councillor does to earn that money, bearing in mind most councillors have a full-time job and some also have a family to juggle with their councillor duties and some are a chair of a committee as well.

“I’ve never agreed with what committee chairs earn, which is more than their basic allowance, for attending five to six meetings a year as the Chair.

“Councillors do not have to take that allowance. They can advise Democratic Services if they just want a certain percentage of the money and I do know of one who did not take any allowance."

A decision is set to be made at a full council meeting on Thursday (June 26).

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that councillors would be voting on a potential increase, which would equate to £2,500 per councillor. This is incorrect. We apologise for the mistake.