Glasgow City Council Susan Aitken to get 13 percent pay rise

It comes as the basic annual salary for councillors is set to increase to £25,300 a year (from £21,345) - despite it being a part-time role. 

It means the two highest-paid council leaders in Scotland will be paid the same as MSPs, netting £72,200 annually and leaders of smaller councils will now earn either £50,537 or £61,366.

Image: Susan Aitken (Newsquest) 

According to the Scottish Daily Express, Scottish Government finance secretary Shona Robison approved the pay rise plans – which were produced and put forward by the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC) – in a bid to persuade better people to enter local politics.

Cosla will make the final decision on whether this policy is implemented.

SLARC - who last looked at this subject in 2011 - reported: “Some councillors believe that there should be a clearer link between the remuneration package provided to them and those received by parliamentarians, reflecting more clearly the shared responsibility of councillors, MSPs and MPs to represent the interests of their constituents.

“Very often, we heard that the complex portfolios carried by senior councillors involved far greater responsibilities than some parliamentary roles. Current remuneration levels are not considered to reflect or match the complexity of the role of the councillor. This can be a significant barrier to candidates, particularly women, people with disabilities, lone parents, and young people."

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The changes will come into force from April 2025 and will cost the public purse an extra £6m a year.

Some councillors leaving the field will also be in line for a "golden goodbye" which will secure a package worth up to a year's wage. 

John O'Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, shared his anger over the move with the Sunday Post

He said: "Taxpayers will be incandescent at these golden goodbyes and pay rise for part-time local politicians.

"Councillors are supposed to be there to serve their residents, not to serve themselves. Town halls should prioritise frontline services over rewarding themselves with perky pay packets."

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However, Robison insisted that pay increases were necessary to attract people, especially those from less well-off backgrounds, to stand for local elections. 

She said: "I and my ministerial colleagues recognise the valuable role councillors play and their key input into local decision-making.

"I would like to thank all serving and previous, councillors for their contributions. Both the Scottish Government and Cosla recognised the need for a review of councillor pay to ensure that terms and conditions truly reflected the responsibilities of a modern-day councillor and that remuneration does not act as a barrier to encouraging a diverse range of people to stand for elected office."

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Councillors do not decide their own pay.

“These recommendations, made by an independent committee, represent the first time Scotland has examined the responsibilities and remuneration of elected members in 13 years – and should be seen in that context.

“SLARC identified that elected member pay is a significant barrier to communities being adequately represented in local democracy – risking the exclusion, in particular, of younger people, women and those with disabilities.

“The proposed salary increase for leaders of the country’s largest authorities is significantly lower than the average. However, by linking these roles to the earnings of back-bench parliamentarians for the first time, SLARC has recognised that these members lead organisations with tens of thousands of staff, billion-pound budgets and with responsibility for direct delivery of daily services to hundreds of thousands of people.”

A COSLA Spokesperson added: “The report by the Scottish Local Authority Remuneration Committee (SLARC) is independent from Scottish Government and COSLA, with a clear commitment to evidence-based recommendations. Councillor remuneration was last reviewed over 10 years ago, in 2011, at which point the recommendations were not implemented.

"According to the SLARC’s research most councillors commit over 26 hours a week to the official elements of the role, while receiving below the living wage. Low pay means that far too often only those who can afford to stand for election do so leaving women, disabled and young people underrepresented, therefore increasing remuneration is a vital first step in tackling barriers to elected office. Our democratic systems work best when they truly represent the communities we serve.”