Elected Member Briefing - SLARC review of remuneration

About this Briefing Note

Report by: Scott Hendry, Democratic Services Manager

EMBN Number: 030-25

Date: 24 February 2025

Subject: Update on SLARC review of councillor remuneration

Details

Purpose

To provide elected members with an update on the outcomes of the independent review of councillor remuneration by the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC)

Briefing Information

SLARC published its review report in February 2024.

The recommendations in the review were accepted by COSLA and in July 2024 the Scottish Government published its response to the SLARC report and its recommendations.

The Scottish Government largely accepted the recommendations on remuneration and bandings however they did not accept the recommendation on resettlement payments stating that further research was needed, and also did not accept the proposed increase to Councillor expenses.

On 23 January 2025 Scottish Government Ministers laid regulations in relation to the increase in Councillor Remuneration which will come into force on 1 April 2025. The increase in uncommitted revenue funding was included in the 2025/26 Local Government Settlement to support the implementation for the regulations in 2025/2026. As these changes are set out in legislation it is not for Councils to accept or reject these changes with the process mirroring the yearly uplift for Councillors.

Following the laying of the SLARC regulations it was brought to the attention of the Scottish Government that corrections were required to these in relation to Band B Civic Heads and Senior Councillors.

This was an administrative error whereby the regulations stated a Band B Civic Head/Senior Councillor would be set at £37,458, while the recommendations provided a figure of £37,548. The original regulations also did not include the annual uplift for Conveners and Vice-Conveners of Joint Boards. As such new regulations will be laid to address these omissions and correct the error to state that the ViceConvener remuneration will increase to £26,797 and Convener to £28,207. These regulations will be laid shortly and come into force on 31 March 2025 with the original regulations coming into force on 1 April 2025 as intended. This should not make any material difference to the implementation of SLARC.

In line with the above and the previous decision of Council at the statutory meeting following the local government elections in May 2022, the revised salary figures for Perth and Kinross Council (as a Band B Council) will now be as follows:

• Leader: £50,063
• Civic Head / Provost: £37,548
• Senior Councillor: £30,689 and £34,528
• Councillor: £25,982

The recommendations on resettlement payments and expenses remain under development as set out in the Scottish Government response to SLARC on 5 July 2024. The remaining recommendations sit with the COSLA Barriers to Elected Office Special Interest Group, these currently form part of a work planning exercise, and clear timelines and progress updates will be communicated to COSLA Leaders in summer 2025.