11 February 2005
Councillors in Scotland could be in line for a pay increase of more than 257%, giving them a basic salary of £25,000.
The figure has been proposed by a councillors' remuneration review committee set up by the Scottish Executive, chaired by Lord Sewel, a former Labour councillor and Scottish Office minister.
The proposed salary would replace the current system of allowances, which provides a basic figure of £7,000 a year.
There is also a special responsibility allowance for conveners and others who hold key posts. But the administration of this arrangement has been criticised and it is understood that Sewel's committee, expected to report next week, has recommended a new way of calculating the payments.
The committee was set up to attract more people into local government. A big shake-up in the way councils are elected is due to take place in 2007 with the introduction of the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representation.
The Sewel report will also put forward severance proposals to encourage older councillors to stand down at the next elections.
There is likely to be strong public criticism over the proposed pay increase for the existing 1,222 councillors. The total bill will be about £30m a year. Critics have suggested the number of councillors should be reduced.
However, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities will welcome the Sewel report as recognition that councillors, many of whom work long hours, deserve a fairer wage.
The figure emerged during the week that Cosla took the unprecedented step of taking out newspaper advertisements explaining why council taxes were rising more than inflation. The leaking of the salary proposal was seen by some local authority officials as a deliberate attempt to embarrass councils planning large tax increases.
Almost all Scotland's 32 councils were due to declare their tax figures on February 10. These were expected to result in an above-inflation increase, averaging around 4.5%.
PFfeb2005
