CHRISTCHURCH council has been named and shamed as one of a handful of local authorities raising councillors’ allowances this year.

As reported in the Daily Echo in March, borough councillors voted themselves an 8.1 per cent increase, raising the annual spend on allowances from £131,861 to £154,600.

The scheme, which came into action in May, now allows councillors £4,072 a year.

The situation has been highlighted in a report by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which claims that Christchurch is one of a small number of councils in the whole of the UK to increase the allowance amount.

Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “With local authorities up and down the country having to rein in spending and many public sector staff facing a pay freeze, those councillors who have awarded themselves an increase in their allowances in defiance of government advice should hang their heads in shame.

“They cannot retain the moral authority to make tough decisions on council spending if they believe their own allowances should be immune. Many taxpayers will be surprised at how much the amount paid varies from one council to the next.”

Leader of Christchurch council Cllr Ray Nottage, pictured, said the council had been advised to raise their allowances by an independent body to £4,500, but they had resisted this, opting instead for a lower figure and saving around £13,000.

“My point is that a councillor who is working for Christchurch Borough Council and doing his job properly is a highly undervalued asset.

“The average (allowance) across the country is £7,000.

We are talking about £4,000.

“These councillors are not doing it for the money. We need to recognise the value of these members and the value they are bringing to the operation.”