Councillors award themselves 8% pay rise

Councillors from Oxfordshire County Council have agreed to give themselves a £1,152 "allowance" rise from April.

At a meeting of full council earlier, an 8% increase to councillors' basic allowance was approved, meaning they will receive £15,420 per annum from April.

It followed recommendations from an independent remuneration panel.

The special responsibility allowance, for councillors taking up lead positions, has also gone up, with the leader of the council being given £46,260 for the next financial year. This is an increase of £3,456.

But following recommendations from the independent panel, it has been confirmed that councillors will be unable to claim back any congestion charge fees through the council's expenses system.

The allowance rise is designed to make sure councillors are not left out of pocket for taking up their role and to increase diversity in people becoming councillors.

Childcare allowances have also risen to £14.06 per hour, capped at 120 hours per year.

The move will cost the council an additional £130,837 for the 2026/2027 financial year.

The panel reported the existing allowances were relatively low compared to other authorities in the area.

Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, Liz Leffman, said: "It's not us telling ourselves what we should do, but an independent panel making a recommendation."

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