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19
Oct
North Yorkshire councillors set for pay rise
North Yorkshire councillors are set to get a pay rise of 2.6% in 2027/28, increasing their basic allowance from £17,964 to £18,431.
The council’s Conservative-run cabinet is expected to approve the inflation-linked uplift when it meets on October 27.
You can read more here.
It will be the third consecutive councillor pay rise since North Yorkshire Council was created in 2023. They enjoyed a 9.68% increase in 2024/25, followed by uplifts of 2% in 2025/26 and 3.6% in 2026/27.
It means their basic allowance will have gone up from £15,500 since the formation of the new local authority to £18,431 in the space of four years.
A comparator table lists North Yorkshire Council ranks North Yorkshire the fourth highest of 20 local authorities when it comes to remuneration.
The comparator table
'Strong financial position'
Councillors are not formally paid but receive a basic allowance to reflect the time they give.
The 2.6% increase was recommended by the four-person Independent Remuneration Panel for Member Allowances.
Its report said the council was in a “strong financial position”, and the uplift would have a “negligible impact upon the overall budget”.
The panel report said:
The basic allowance can play an important role in encouraging persons of all ages and backgrounds to become councillors and so the level of the basic allowance should not be a disincentive, particularly at a time of significant inflation and cost-of living pressures. It should not cost people to be a councillor. However, the basic allowance is not intended as a ‘salary’ as councillors are not employees but elected representatives.
The panel also recommended increasing the special responsibility allowance paid to those councillors who take on additional duties and responsibilities, such as chairing committees, by 2.6%.
The number of councillors will decrease from 90 to 89 in May’s council elections, following boundary changes.
The panel’s report said: “If our recommendations are accepted, the overall increase in cost for 2027-28 would therefore be £36,059.54.”
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