COLCHESTER borough councillors are set to get an increase in their allowances for the next year.

Colchester Council will increase its members’ allowances by 1.5 per cent for 2015/16.

This is in line with the annual wage increase council staff have received.

The allowances scheme was approved by the council in 2012 and sees the two increases linked.

Members’ basic allowance will increase from £6,475.84 for 2014/15 to £6,572.98 for 2015/16.

The basic allowance is intended to help councillors meet the costs of serving the residents in their wards.

Cabinet members, group leaders, chairmen of committees and members of the planning and licensing committees are also entitled to special responsibility allowances, in recognition of their extra workload.

Paul Smith, council leader and councillor responsible for strategy, said: “It has gone up by 1.5 per cent. It is the same rise as the rise in staff salary, because that is the way the scheme works.

“The scheme was set up by an independent body which reviews it.

“They looked at how much more people spend being councillors to make sure nobody was excluded from being a councillor because they couldn’t afford to do the job.”

Mr Smith said councillors incur costs by hosting surgeries, sending out leaflets and attending events in their ward.

He added: “We got an increase as members of staff got an increase. If they don’t get an increase we don’t get anything. That was felt to be fair.”

Who gets what allowance?

EACH councillor is paid a basic allowance with those councillors who undertake special responsibilities being paid an extra special responsibility allowance.

> Basic allowance: 2014/2015 – £6,475.84, 2015/2016– £6572.98

> Mayor: 2014/15 – £11,700, 2015/2016 – £11,800

> Deputy mayor: 2014/15 – £2,600, 2015/2016 – £2,700

> Leader of council: 2014/15 – £19,427.53, 2015/2016 – £19,718.94

> Deputy leader of council: 2014/15 – £12,239.35, 2015/2016 – £12,422.94

> Cabinet member: 2014/15 – £11,656.52, 2015/2016 – £11,831.37

> Chairman, scrutiny panel: 2014/15 – £6,799.63, 2015/2016 – £6,901.62

> Chairman, planning: 2014/15 – £6,799.63, 2015/2016 – £6,901.62

> Chairman, licensing: 2014/15 – £5,828.26, 2015/2016 – £5,915.68

> Chairman, other panel: 2014/15 – £3,885.51, 2015/2016 – £3,943.79

> Member, planning: 2014/15 – £1,019.95, 2015/2016 – £1,035.25

> Member, licensing: 2014/15 – £437.13, 2015/2016 – £443.69

> Opposition leader (Conservative): 2014/15 – £7,771.02, 2015/2016 – £7,887.59

> Labour leader: 2014/15 – £6216.81, 2015/2016 – £7,098.83

> Highwoods and Stanway independents leader: 2014/15 – £3,108.40, 2015/2016 – £3,155.03