A proposal to limit pay increases for all councillors bar the council leader and Provost to a national minimum of just over £500 has been rejected by vote at a meeting of West Lothian Council Executive.
Depute SNP group leader Councillor Robert De Bold argued that senior councillors - the 12 who hold elected posts as committee chairs or serve on boards - should not get additional payments, reflecting the tough economic conditions faced across the country.
Councillors pay, officially known as The Scheme of Elected Members Remuneration, Allowances and Reimbursement of Expenses, sets what a councillor earns over the course of a year.
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A report to the Executive said: “Elected members remuneration (salary) is set by the Scottish Government. It also lists the councillor duties that expenses can be claimed for. The types of expenses are set by the Scottish Government as well, not by the council, and receipts are required.”
All councillors in Scotland receive Remuneration, Allowances and Reimbursement of Expenses. Councillors do not set their own Remuneration, Allowances and Reimbursement of Expenses.
From 1 April 2023, all councillors will receive a 2.7% rise, below the rate of inflation (10.1%)
The new pay structure will see the salary of Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick, the Labour group leader and council leader’s salary rise by just over £1,000 from £39,148 to £40,205.
The salary of the Provost, Cathy Muldoon, will rise from £29,361 to £30,154, an increase of £793.
The salary for senior councillors rises from £28.543 to £29,314 - up £771. Convenors and vice convenors of boards will see annual increases of more than £600.
Ordinary councillors will see their salary rise by £528 from £19,571 to £20,099.
Councillor De Bold told the meeting: “We should accept the statutory increase of £528 on the basic salary. That’s set by the Scottish Government. I think where we have the ability not to accept the uplift for senior councillors, we do not do that.
“I don't think it’s appropriate to be voting on accepting pay increases given the current circumstances and the current budget.”
Governance Manager James Millar told the meeting: “The levels of pay for the Leader of the council and the Provost are fixed by regulation and cannot be changed, and the basic remuneration is fixed by regulation and can’t be changed . What I believe councillor De Bold wants to do is to change the amounts paid to senior councillors. I’m assuming he wants these to stay as they are. That would be a competent amendment.”
Councillor Carl John seconded Councillor De Bold’s amendment. “I think in these times of austerity, it would look bad taking more than the £528 we have to take.”
A spokesperson for the council said: “The Scheme is reviewed annually by the Executive Committee. The Scheme is based on updated versions of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (Remuneration) Regulations 2007 and the Local Government (Allowances and Expenses) (Scotland) Regulations 2007.
“The regulations say exactly how much must be paid to the Provost, to the Council Leader and as basic remuneration to all councillors. They set upper limits on how many councillors can be paid more for taking on extra responsibilities and what the maximum amount is that they can be paid for doing so.”
Information on Elected Members salaries, allowances and expenses is published by the end of June every year and is available on the Council’s website.
The Executive voted down the SNP amendment by 10 votes to three.
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