TORRIDGE District Council opted to increase their pay over the next two years at a full council meeting on Monday, June 27 — with their basic yearly allowance rising by almost £100 each.

As part of a member allowance scheme councillors on Torridge District Council were asked to decide if they wanted to increase their basic allowance and the Special Responsibility Allowances in line with the pay award agreed for staff by NJC.

The councillor basic allowance is currently £4,568.64 with the total budget per annum of £164,471.

Council leader Jane Whittaker’s current yearly allowance stands at £10,758.24, with the increase in pay her allowance will rise by £216.24 before the end of 2018 to £10,974.48.

Cllr Whittaker (Cons) said: “Member’s allowances are provided for every councillor in the country to enable them to carry out their duties.

“Quite rightly any increase is linked to staff pay increases agreed by The National Joint Council for Local Government Services (NJC), however, in Torridge, any increase for members must also be approved, and is not automatic.”

The NJC has agreed a 1% pay increase per year for two years for staff from April 1, 2016.

The council’s senior officers will also receive a 1% pay increase this year — although the NJC pay increase does not apply to them.

There has been no change to any of the councillor allowances for six years.

Cllr Whittaker said: “Over the last six years members have voted on successive occasions to forego any increase in allowances and the levels have remained static for that period.

“For comparison Parliamentary MP’s salaries have risen by nearly 13% during the same period. However this time around members in Torridge have voted for a 1% increase this year and 1% in the next year.”

Cllr Whittaker added: “The level of historic increases clearly highlights mindfulness by members to limit the burden on the public purse, as demonstrated by the restraint shown since 2010.

“However we also need to ensure members are compensated at a level that allows them to perform effectively in public service, which has increasingly placed more demand on member’s time and levels of commitment needed to perform the role properly. A 1% increase in seven years really can’t be described as excessive”

The decision was made at the full council meeting to increase the councillor basic allowance and special responsibility allowances by 1% from April 1, 2016 and by 1% from the April 1, 2017.

Until now the basic allowance claimed by councillors has stayed at £4,568.64. Over the next two years this is set to rise by 1% per year, resulting in an increase of around £92.