Liverpool City Councillors may receive an increase in pay after an independent remuneration panel compared their current allowances with those of similar cities and found they were substantially lower. The panel took into account national pay awards given to council staff since 2019 as well as the workload involved in being an elected member. The study found that Liverpool’s basic allowance of £10,590 was substantially less than the ‘core city’ average of £14,946.62.
The panel acknowledged that due to the size and complexity of the city, demands on Liverpool’s Councillors were significantly greater, requiring more time, expertise and dedication from elected officials. Despite proposed increases to the basic allowance, it would still fall almost £1,500 below the amount received by councillors in core cities.
The recommendations, which were being considered by Liverpool’s Constitution and Governance Committee, included increasing the Basic Allowance from £10,590 to £13,500 and increasing allowances across all roles in line with the National Joint Council of Local Government Services Pay Award from 2025/26 to 2028/29. Other recommendations suggested removing the threshold of having 20% of councilors to become the Leader of the Opposition and Whip of the Opposition, and replacing the threshold of having 10% of councillors to be the leader of a minority group with a minimum of four members.
The allowances of the Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader of the Council, and Cabinet members were all suggested to be increased, along with the allowance for the Leader of the Opposition. Chair of the Independent Remuneration Panel, Andy Brown, explained that increasing allowances was critical in ensuring Liverpool had the ability to attract and retain talented councillors, and that the recommendations were “reasonable and prudent, striking a balance between affordability and adequate compensation for their work”
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