Pay rises for most councillors as town halls cut jobs and services

Councillors in London have awarded themselves almost £32 million in pay and allowances despite austerity measures sweeping through town halls.

The basic allowance paid to all councillors has risen at 19 of the 32 boroughs in the past year even though up to 30,000 council jobs are at risk and front-line services face cuts.

Thirteen councils in the capital ran up bills in excess of £1 million last year with Croydon paying out £1.5 million while Hillingdon and Newham awarded £1.3 million, according to an Evening Standard survey.

Southwark, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Haringey, Hackney, Havering, Wandsworth, Barnet, Waltham Forest and Ealing all paid more than £1 million.

Only one council, Kingston-upon-Thames, awarded its councillors less than £700,000.

The largest individual payments went to the directly elected mayors in three of London's poorest boroughs. Sir Robin Wales, the mayor of Newham, took home £78,844, mayor of Lewisham Steve Bullock got £78,835 and Jules Pipe, mayor of Hackney, got £75,846. All are Labour politicians.

The responses to a Freedom of Information request showed councillors claimed a total of £32 million, including £1.6 million given to leaders.

Allowances are now generally considered to be pay for full-time borough leaders. Senior councillors routinely took home £50,000 while leaders paid themselves more than £60,000 a year. Kensington and Chelsea leader Merrick Cockell received £65,778, Greenwich's Chris Roberts got £62,816 and Hillingdon's Ray Puddifoot £62,496.

Two Tory councillors, Croydon's Steve O'Connell and Barnet's Brian Coleman, who both sit on the London Assembly, took home more than £100,000 a year each. Both claimed they provided good value for money to the taxpayer, despite being criticised by the Government.

Councils across London are tightening their belts before the local government finance settlement, expected next week.

A row erupted this year when it emerged the official London Councils advisory panel recommended councils increase allowances.

Senior councillors in Barnet were accused of "having their noses in the trough" after voting themselves inflation-busting pay rises in July. Two months later, following a public outcry, they agreed to take a pay cut.

But councillors claim the sums are necessary to attract high-calibre members and pay their cost of living.

A spokesman for London Councils said: "Being a local councillor is an extremely demanding position.

"Allowances are set at a level that enables people to undertake the role while not acting as an incentive for them to do so.

"However, to encourage a diverse range of people as possible to stand as elected members we need to ensure that they are not put at a financial disadvantage."

Councillors can also reclaim travel, subsistence and carers' expenses, though these tend to be modest.