Councillors to get 6% pay rise despite pleas from councils

Local councillors in Wales are to get an above inflation pay rise of 6.4% from April - despite one council asking for no increase and eight others calling for a smaller hike.

The pay rise, which means a councillor's basic salary will start at £21,044, was approved by the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru (DBCC) - an independent body responsible the pay packets of politicians in Wales.

Wales has 22 councils and 1,233 councillors, whose jobs include running public services like schools, social services and bin collection.

DBCC's chief executive said it recognised pressures on council budgets and the cost of living for the public, and would look at new ways of deciding council pay in future.

DBCC said the 6.4% increase "matches" the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) annual survey of hours and earnings, "meaning that the pay rise for councillors matches the average pay increase across Wales in the latest data".

The ONS is the UK's largest independent supplier of official statistics.

But the DBCC noted that a number of responses in the consultation "expressed concern" with the "continued application of ONS data on median salaries in Wales" - meaning the exact middle point of salaries earned by people in the country.

It says there will be a further review of the salary of councillors after the 2027 council elections in Wales.

DBCC chief executive Shereen Williams said: "Councillors across Wales serve their communities with dedication, and run services that we all rely on every day.

"Research by the commission shows that councillors are working an average of 28 hours per week on their roles, with many of them doing this on top of another job."

She added: "We recognise however that council budgets are stretched and the cost of living has increased for everyone, and we'll look at new ways of deciding councillor pay for future years over the coming months."

Allowances for community and town councils will remain the same.

In the Welsh Parliament, Senedd members are due to get a 4.5% pay rise later this year after a 6% increase last year.

Last year at the UK Parliament in Westminster, MPs were given a 2.8% increase.