WILTSHIRE Council spent nearly £2m on councillors’ allowances in the year 2017/2018, as councillors have taken home £3,324 more in basic allowances in 2018 than those completing the same role in 2009.

The basic allowance for councillors sitting on Wiltshire Council is now £13,199 per person per year for the non-salaried role. The basic allowance is increased at the same rate as all council staff wages, rising on average £415.50 a year since 2009.

There are 98 councillors representing all residents of the county and last year £1.936m was spent on councillor allowances. Councillors say they spend up to two days a week dedicated to looking through paperwork, attending meetings and talking to local people.

Councillor attendance levels at meetings has varied between some who attended just three to those present at 25.

While 30 of the 98 councillors had a 100 per cent attendance record, the lowest attendance levels came from Bromham, Rowde and Potterne councillor Anna Cuthbert at 44 per cent. She has recently returned to the role after illness and said: “I know I have some catching up to do.”

In the last six months cabinet members had a near 100 per cent attendance record, with just one member, Toby Sturgis, missing a single meeting missed during the six month time frame.

Trowbridge councillor Edward Kirk has questioned why councillors are given an allowance while town councillors fulfill their roles as volunteers. Conservative Mr Kirk said: “There is a big difference between Wiltshire councillors having what I consider a lot of allowance and town councillors who are doing it out of love for the area.

“As town councils are given more responsibility is their role going to become more important? I do not think town councillors should get paid, but there is a big difference in what Wiltshire councillors get in comparison.

“For the public what they see town councillor and Wiltshire councillors doing is quite similar, but town councillors don’t get anything.

“When it was debated one councillor said if she didn’t have the allowance she wouldn’t be able to afford to do it. Work can take up around two days a week but sometimes more. I am self-employed so I can do the work, but for some others it is impossible without the basic allowance.”

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Ian Thorn said: “Basic allowance is really important for councillors.There is an argument for why councillors are paid at all but if this was the case, it would be likely that the council would be made up of retired people or people with private incomes which wouldn’t be representative.

"Councillors spend a huge time working on cases and attending meetings in their areas as well as at county hall and it is really important that they are recuperated for their costs.

"We want a council made up of people from different ages, life experiences and communities.Then it is up to the electorate to decide whether they got value for money.”

To see your councillor’s attendance visit: https://cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/mgUserAttendanceSummary.aspx

Figures about attendance levels were published on the council website for the period between March 6 to August 30.