More than £66,500 increase in allowances for East Suffolk’s local leaders proposed
On Wednesday, East Suffolk councillors will consider a review looking at councillors’ allowance
Last updated 20th Jan 2025
An increase of more than £66,500 in councillors’ allowances is being proposed for a district in Suffolk.
On Wednesday, East Suffolk councillors will consider a review from the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) looking at councillors’ allowances — money to cover the costs of carrying out council duties, including phone, postage and travel.
The review was commissioned in September 2019 but did not start until October last year due to the Covid pandemic and local elections.
The IRP concluded although allowances at East Suffolk Council (ESC) were already the highest in Suffolk, they should be increased in recognition of the district’s size in terms of demographic area and population.
Broken down, ESC ranks second lowest in payment per constituent, with £1.96, just above Ipswich at £1.65 — Babergh ranks the highest at £2.38 per constituent.
The panel’s recommendations would see councillors’ basic allowance, payable to all members as long as they attended one meeting once every six months, increased from £8,766 to £9,379.
Similarly, the council’s leader and deputy leader would also see an increase of £2,554 across both roles, going from £21,916 and £14,639 to £23,447 and £15,662 respectively.
In total, an increase in allowances for all 55 councillors, which includes special responsibility payments for members of different committees as well as opposition leaders, would mean an extra £66,654 pressure on the authority’s finances.
A survey of 25 councillors showed most respondents believed the basic allowance should be up to or more than £10,000, with the vast majority stating they worked between 11 and 30 hours per week on council duties.
One councillor wrote: “It’s an honour to serve but you need to work on it full-time and not be distracted by other work.”
Another added: “Allowances do not reflect the amount of unsocial hours required to carry out the rolls and the effects on other members of your families.”