Falkirk Council: Pay increases agreed for senior councillor roles

The amount paid to councillors increased by 5.2 per cent on April 1 this year, taking the salary of an ordinary councillor up to £19,571.

The pay rise was automatic, after the Scottish Government introduced a new mechanism in 2017 that tied councillors’ pay to the median annual earnings of public sector workers in Scotland.

The council leader’s annual wage of £39,148 is also fixed by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 2004.

But the council has some discretion in what it can pay the Provost and the new civic head, Robert Bissett, will receive £29,361, Falkirk councillors agreed on Wednesday, an increase from £27,910 last financial year.

They also approved several changes to the posts that receive extra payments to match their responsibilities, with three levels of remuneration.

The SNP administration put forward that six portfolio holders – a reduction from eight – should now receive £26,235 for the work that they do.

The new portfolios are: Climate Change, to be held by Iain Sinclair; Economic Development, to be held by Paul Garner; Education & Leisure, to be held by Laura Murtagh; Health & Social Care, to be held by Fiona Collie; Housing & Communities to be held by Gary Bouse; and Public Protection, to be held by Stacey Devine.

There will also be remuneration of £23,514 for the conveners of Planning, Civic Licensing and the Licensing Board.

The level 2 salary will also apply to the Leader of Labour Group, Councillor Anne Hannah.

However, the leader of the Conservative group will be in the third tier, with Councillor James Kerr now receiving £21,992.

Other level three positions are the Depute Provost and Convener of Pensions.

Introducing the proposals, council leader Cecil Meiklejohn said: “None of us came into this job for money – it’s more about what we can do for our communities.”

She said that the SNP administration that restructuring the remuneration had been done in a bid to recognise the political make-up of the council and make it “more inclusive”.

Members of the Non-Aligned Independent Group argued that the position of convener of Scrutiny – held by one of their members – should also be paid, with Councillor Robert Spears saying it was a “vitally important position”.

But other councillors maintained that there were other unpaid convenerships – including the External Scrutiny committee – that are just as important and it wasn’t possible to include them all, as the rules state that only 14 posts can be remunerated.

After a vote, the Independent group’s proposals were rejected and the SNP administration’s motion passed easily.

The leader of the Labour group, Cllr Anne Hannah, said that while her group would support the SNP proposals she said it might need to be revisited later in the year once the role of the new champions became clearer.

Members of the Non-Aligned Independents Group – Robert Spears, Bryan McCabe – also missed out on a place on the Executive.

Councillor Spears stood against Councillor Billy Buchanan for the Independents’ place but received just two votes.

Mr Buchanan was supported by Labour and the Conservatives while the SNP abstained.