Cornwall councillors must vote on whether to increase their own pay

CORNWALL councillors will be asked to decide whether to accept a pay rise when they meet next week.

All councillors currently at County Hall in Truro receive a basic allowance of £14,870.50 and there are a number of special responsibility allowances which are paid to those councillors with roles such as leader of the council, cabinet members and committee chairmen.

An independent remuneration panel sets recommendations for councillors’ allowances, and in its latest report it has recommended that allowances increase to £15,596.99.

The recommendation, which covers allowances from May, 2021, is set to go to full council when it meets next Tuesday.

If accepted, the increase in allowances would actually save the council £432,443.64, as the number of councillors is set to be cut at May’s elections from 123 to 87.

Mark Formosa, Conservative councillor for Newquay Treviglas, said: “I have told my colleagues that I will not vote for an increase this year while the country is still in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the hardworking families and others I represent have had a 20% pay cut in the past year because of furlough, or, worse, have lost their jobs.”