Swindon councillors may see 10% increase in allowances
Panel advises adjustments in councillor compensations for municipal years up to 2029/30
Swindon councillors could be set to receive an over 10 per cent increase in their basic allowance
The rise was recommended by Swindon Borough Council’s Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) as part of a wider review of allowances for the 2026/27 to 2029/30 Municipal years.
The panel recommended that the Basic Allowance amount be increased by 10 per cent from £9,741.63 to £10,715.79 for the 2026/2027 Municipal Year.
The Cabinet will consider the recommendations at its meeting on Thursday, October 8, and the final decision will be made by Full Council.
The review, which began in February 2026 and concluded in April, looked at the current scheme and compared it to similar authorities.
The Cabinet Report on the matter reads: ‘The panel considers it important to reflect that the allowances paid at Swindon Borough Council are in line with the mean/median figures of allowances paid at comparable authorities and it would wish to see that position continue.
‘The panel was motivated by not wishing to see allowances for Swindon Borough Council fall to such a level that they become a disincentive for citizens who may be considering standing for election and fail to retain talented people once they are elected.’
The panel also highlighted that councillors’ Basic Allowance in neighbouring Wiltshire Council is significantly higher, which could lead to people standing for public office away from Swindon and towards Wiltshire.
The panel described Swindon councillors’ level of allowance as ‘modest’, considering the time they give to their responsibilities.
In addition to the 10 per cent increase, the panel recommended that the allowance continues to be index-linked and increased in line with the pay award given to officers arising from the annual Local Government Pay Settlement over the next four years, ending in 2029/30.
This would mean that the total increase for 2026/27 would be 13.3 per cent, including the 3.3 per cent officer pay award.
Special Responsibility Allowances were also reviewed, with the panel recommending reductions for most committee chairs except those of the Licensing and Planning Committees.
The panel said the responsibilities of most chairs did not justify the current allowance of £7,306.22.
It recommended reducing the allowance to £2,678.95, calculated as 0.25 times the Basic Allowance instead of 0.75.
The panel also recommended removing the Special Responsibility Allowances for the Chair and Co-opted members of the Health and Wellbeing Board, which, at the time of review, was scheduled to only meet once a year.
It further suggested removing the allowance for the chair of the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel from the Swindon Scheme of Allowances, as this is funded by Wiltshire Council through Home Office funding.
The panel recommended aligning councillor travel rates with those for council officers.
For car travel, the rate would rise from 45p per mile to 55p.
The rate for motorcycles would increase from 16.5p to 24p per mile, while the rate for pedal cycles would decrease from 30p to 20p per mile.
These rates are linked to increases in the Inland Revenue rates.
The panel made no recommendations for changes to councillors’ Subsistence or Dependent Care allowances.
The review took into account changes to the council’s committee structure made in August, which included the creation of three new Overview and Scrutiny committees.
The panel recommended that the chairs of these committees receive a Special Responsibility Allowance in line with other overview and scrutiny chairs, backdated to August 6, 2026.
The independent panel, established in 2001, has six members independent of the council.
One each is nominated by the Education, Business and Voluntary/Community sectors, while three Lay Members are also appointed.
If approved, the new scheme will be contained within the council’s existing budget.
‘Cabinet can decide to support all of the Panel’s recommendations to the Council … or it can decide not to support the Panel’s recommendations and to make its own recommendations to Council,’ reads the report.
‘If alternative arrangements and proposals are made by Cabinet, these will be put forward in addition to the recommendations of the Panel.’
The Council is not required to adopt all or any of the Panel’s recommendations.