Moray Councillor salaries updated
Moray Council has released details of changes to elected member salaries.
Following a recommendation from the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC), the Scottish Parliament has approved regulations:
- Increasing the amounts for councillors remuneration based on a median employee cost.
- Reducing the number of bands for councils in Scotland (which link councillor remuneration to the size of council) from four to three.
- Allowing the councils within the lowest band (including Moray) to increase the number of remunerated senior councillors from nine to ten.
The recommendations aim to ensure the diversity and sustainability of councillors in Scotland by removing barriers to holding elected office and enabling wider representation.
The revised rates are:
|
Fixed amounts |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Leader |
£35,580.00 |
£50,063.00 |
|
Councillor |
£21,345.00 |
£25,982.00 |
|
Chair of Joint Board |
£26,686.00 |
£28,207.00* |
|
Discretionary amounts |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Civic Head maximum |
£26,686.00 |
£37,548.00 |
|
Senior Councillor maximum** |
£26,686.00 |
£37,548.00 |
(*subject to further confirmation from Scottish Government.
**the amount is subject to a cap on total spend on Senior Councillors of £317,646.25).
It was agreed that the total amount which could be paid to the eight Senior Councillor positions at Moray Council is £31,764.00.
At the meeting of Moray Council on 10 August 2022, in addition to payments for the Council Leader, Civic Leader and Chairs of Joint Boards, the Council agreed the allocation of nine Senior Responsibility Allowances for the Civic Leader; Chairs of Corporate, EDIS, Licensing, Housing and Community Safety, Planning and Regulatory, Police and Fire committees; Leader of largest opposition party; Chair of Audit and Scrutiny committee.
Currently the group Leader of the largest opposition party and Chair of Audit of Scrutiny roles are both held by one individual. This means that the total number of senior councillor payments currently paid remains at eight.
Council Leader, Cllr Kathleen Robertson, commented: “In the interests of transparency we’re publicising this information that’s already in the public domain, as the salary of elected members is often a question put to us. While councils don’t set the rates of pay for councillors it’s appropriate that we scrutinise the decisions surrounding any changes to salaries. This update aims to make pay for councillors fairer to reflect the work undertaken and my hope is that it shows the value we place in the position of office and encourages more people to consider becoming a councillor in future.”