Rotherham councillors allowances published – and only one takes less than the full amount

The base allowance in Rotherham was set at £11,471.04, with those having additional responsibilities – such as chairing committees – entitled to extra allowances.

As of this summer, allowances are visible next to the councillors’ names on the RMBCs website.

This was a development welcomed by Cllr Michael Bennett-Sylvester (Independent), who raised the idea at the full council meeting two weeks ago.

Cllr Bennett-Sylvester was the only councillor not to take the full allowance, the figures who, accepting £7,777.30 instead.

He has pledge to forgo part of his allowance over the coming year, too.

and he said he wouldn’t take 100 per cent of the base this year, either.

Cllr Bennett-Sylvester said: “Councillors don’t get a wage – they get allowances for the time they take off work.

“What really annoys me is that the only thing you need to do is turn up for one meeting in six months and you get the full money.

“The election promise I had was I’d claim what it cost me (to be a councillor), so I don’t claim the full allowance – it only reflects the time I lose due to council duties.

“This year, it’s going to be a little bit more – nine-thousand and odd pounds.

“You don’t have to take the full amount of money, that’s in the constitution.”

Cllr Chris Read, the leader of the council, tops the allowances chart with a total of £37,322.04 claimed in the last year, followed by deputy leader Cllr Sarah Allen, with £25,689.

The eight cabinet members, plus Cllr Maggi Clark, chair of the overview and scrutiny management board, had allowances of at £24,396 each.

A spokesperson for RMBC said: “The allowances detailed on the council website for each individual member is the amount that the council pays for basic and special responsibility allowances.

“This is subject to Pay as You Earn rules, where deductions are made for Income Tax and National Insurance.

“The amount of money received will vary compared to the amount published because of the Pay as You Earn deductions.”