Analysis of the figures shows that members of Telford & Wrekin Council cost taxpayers substantially less than their counterparts on the former Shropshire County Council.

The total of allowances and expenses paid out to Shropshire’s 48 members in the financial year 2008/09 was £669,000.

In Telford & Wrekin, which has six more seats than Shropshire, it was £638,000.

And taking into account the fact that Telford & Wrekin is a single-tier unitary authority responsible for the work done by the old district and borough councils in Shropshire, the difference is even more marked.

It adds reinforcement to the claim by Councillor Andrew Eade, leader of the council, that it is giving value for money by charging the lowest council tax in the West Midlands.

Councillor Eade did not claim any expenses for the year and received £31,128 in allowances.

His fellow Conservative down the A5 at the Shirehall in Shrewsbury, county council leader Malcolm Pate, collected £39,713, including £4,575 for travel and subsistence.

Individual claims for cabinet members were generally lower in Telford & Wrekin with most members claiming less than £20,000 for the year while the majority of Shropshire members claimed more than £20,000.

Main opposition leader at Tory-controlled Telford & Wrekin is Labour’s Keith Austin, former leader of the council until the last election.

He claimed £18,731 last year, compared with £25,890 by Shropshire’s Liberal Democrat opposition leader Peter Phillips.

The newly elected Shropshire Council unitary authority, which has replaced the county council, has 74 members who will be able to claim a basic allowance of £12,000, plus expenses and extra responsibility payments.