Allowances paid to county councillors next year (2025/26) are to be set in line with any pay rise awarded to council staff, it has been agreed.

All 78 county councillors are currently allocated a 'basic allowance', of £12,051 a year (2024/25).

And those with other responsibilities can claim higher amounts – currently up to £60,255 for the leader of the council and £36,153 for executive members.

The payments are reviewed annually by the county's five-strong 'independent panel on members' allowances', which does not include any county councillors.

And that panel has recommended that in 2025/26 the 'basic allowance' should be consistent with the National Joint Council for Local Government Employees settlement.

Negotiations between unions and employers about the national pay increase for local government staff is still ongoing.

So any amount that councillors' 'basic allowances' will increase by will not be confirmed until any pay increase for staff is agreed.

Nevertheless on Tuesday (25 February) a meeting of the council agreed to accept the panel's recommendation that the 'basic allowance' should be consistent with the National Joint Council for Local Government Employees settlement.

They also agreed that the councillor posts qualifying for 'special responsibility allowances' – or SRAs – should remain the same in 2025/26.

And they agreed that the SRAs – allocated in multiples of the 'basic allowance' – should remain unchanged too.

That means that as well as the basic allowance the leader of the council will receive an SRA equivalent to four times the basic allowance in 2025/26.

And the deputy leader will receive an SRA equivalent to three times the basic allowance.

Executive members will receive an SRA that is twice the basic allowance – and deputy executive members one that is equal to the basic allowance.

SRAs are paid in addition to the basic allowance – but where a councillor would qualify for two SRAs they can only claim the one of the highest value.

Leaders of the other political groups represented in the council can claim an SRA depending on the number of members in their group.

So the leader of the majority opposition group can claim three-and-a-half times the basic allowance divided by the total number of councillors (78) – with a minimum payment of 0.75 of the basic allowance.

Meanwhile the leader of other groups can claim the same three-and-a-half times the basic allowance divided by the total number of councillors (78) – with a minimum payment of 0.5 of the basic allowance.

Spokespeople from the Lib Dem and Labour groups can claim the equivalent of half the basic allowance.

Meanwhile the chairs of the council's committees – including audit, pensions, development control and the full council – can claim an allowance equivalent to a basic allowance.

In other changes it was agreed that the maximum 'dependants' carers' allowance' for child care be increased to £13.85 an hour.

And the same allowance for the care of an adult be increased to £25.48 an hour.

In addition councillors can claim subsistence allowances. And according to the report  breakfast, lunch and tea rates are set to be increased in line with the scheme for council officers.

The officer dinner scheme rate, it says, has risen from £9.46 to £12. The rate for breakfast is reported to be £7.03 and for lunch £9.69.

Travel allowances will be paid to councillors at the same rates as employees.

According to the panel's report the average basic allowance of 12 'comparative county councils' is £12,914.