Local LibDems demand "deep cuts" in Westminster's £885,000 councillors' allowances

12.47.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 17th Apr 2009

In the last three years, almost £2.5 million has been added to tax bills to pay for allowances for Westminster's councillors. Local LibDems want "deep cuts" in these, to cut local tax bills.

Westminster's councillors are facing calls to cut their allowances as figures just released reveal they collected over £885,000 in the 12 months to March 2009. This is up 26 per cent in just two years.

Each councillor is entitled to a 'basic' allowance of £10,250. Most also qualify for a further 'special responsibility allowance'. This year, for example, the Leader of the Council will collect £42,000 as a special responsibility allowance on top of his basic allowance. A small number of councillors also claim amounts for subsistence, including travel.

The total amount paid out to councillors rose from £704,836 in the 2006/07 financial year, to £885,211 in 2008/09. In the last three financial years, just short of £2.5m has been spent on councillors' allowances in Westminster.

All councillors also get a £1,000 bonus when they are first elected, and again every time they are re-elected. This is intended to cover the cost of computer equipment.

Mark Blackburn, the chair of the local Liberal Democrats and also the party's parliamentary candidate for Westminster North, is calling for "deep cuts" in councillors' allowances.

Commenting, he said, "At the time of the last council elections, in 2006, these allowances were much lower. At that time, the basic allowance was £2,950 less than it is today. Some of the biggest rises went to the Deputy Leader of the Council, who has seen his allowance more than double. The Leader of the Labour Opposition has also done very well, with an 83 per cent jump in his special responsibility allowance.

"Unlike many local council areas, Westminster is very compact. That means it is very easy and cheap to get around. Allowances for councillors here do not therefore need to be as high as they are. There is plenty of scope for deep cuts that save taxpayers' money."

He has outlined specific plans: "I am calling for all councillors' allowances here in Westminster to be cut back to those, much lower, 2006 levels. I would also cut in half the £1,000 payment for computer equipment. We have gone through the numbers, and these savings would add up to something like £1m over four years.

"A Liberal Democrat-controlled Westminster would spend much less public money on allowances for councillors. We would cut them back to 2006 levels and half the £1,000 payment for computer equipment. We would then freeze them at those levels at least until the next set of council elections, in 2014."