Telford councillors allowance claims drop by £56,000

The total paid to councillors and 14 co-optees in the year 2016/17 was £619,123, more than £56,000 less than was paid in 2009/10.

Councillors all receive a basic allowance of £7,870 a year for their work. Further special responsibility allowances are paid to councillors who perform additional duties such as a cabinet or scrutiny role.

The total allowances paid to councillors in 2016/17 was £615,704, slightly less than the previous year.

The amount paid to councillors is £12,230 below what councillors were entitled as the council’s cabinet took a voluntary ten per cent reduction in their special responsibilities allowance.

This money is now being used to help fund the council’s new Young Person Bursary to promote educational, cultural and sporting excellence in the borough.

The scheme is open to all children and young people up to the age of 25 who are resident in Telford and Wrekin and have been identified as gifted, talented, excellent or exceptional by their teacher, professional worker or mentor in either, education, training or employment, sport, arts, culture, dance or music.

Applications for this bursary must be made by July 31 and can be made here

Councillors and co-optees can also claim reimbursements for expenses incurred in their council work. In 2016/17 this was £912. In 2009/10 the figure for reimbursements was £12,008.

Telford & Wrekin councillor allowances are set independently and were last raised in 2010.

Full details of what each councillor is paid and reimbursements claimed are published in local press and at www.telford.gov.uk/opencouncil. Details of all payments to councillors are here.

Councillor Rae Evans, cabinet lead with responsibility for democratic services, said: “When our services are under extreme financial pressures, it’s only fair that every member of the cabinet has helped by choosing to reduce their special responsibility allowance.

“The money saved is now being put to good use to help some of the borough’s most talented and gifted young people to pursue their dreams through our first ever leader and cabinet members Young Person’s Bursary scheme, which can give grants to successful applicants.

“The total paid to councillors is now more than £56,000 below what it was in 2009/10. Over the last six years the cabinet not claiming their full allowances has saved more than £113,000 alone.

“As we face more and more cuts as our Government grant is reduced further, I and my cabinet colleagues remain committed to continue to forgo our full allowance.

"As an open council it’s very important our residents have access to this information and know what their representatives receive for their work as Telford & Wrekin councillors.”