Councillors’ £430k wage and expenses bill down almost a tenth as travel halted amid pandemic

The SIC leader Steven Coutts received a salary of £29,760

The remuneration of SIC members was down nine per cent last year, as the pandemic brought a huge drop in expenses claims.

The council’s annual allowances and expenses bill, published today, saw the total cost of allowances and expenses for 2020/21 stood at £429,757.

This was down £42,365 on the previous year’s costs, which stood at £472,122.

Most of the decrease relates to a huge fall in expenses with few members travelling or attending events due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

While the total expense bill for 2019/20 was almost £60,000 – last year’s total barely topped £2,500.

Expenses include mileage claims, subsistence, telephone and IT costs.

The members’ total wage bill was  up slightly from £397,412 to £412,533 due to a salary increase of around two per cent and the fact several councillors had stood down the previous year.

Members’ salaries had increased by around two per cent.

The top earning councillor was SIC leader Steven Coutts who was paid a salary of £29,760.

Attendance levels were also up on last year, with almost half of councillors attending every meeting they were due to attend.