REVEALED: Bracknell Forest councillors took £578k in allowances last year

This is a marginal increase of less than one per cent from the previous total racked up in 2018/2019, and a lower sum than in 2017/2018.

READ MORE: How much your councillors were paid in allowances two years ago

The figure comes from the total paid out in allowances, which every councillor receives, and expenses, which are claimed independently.

Data released for 2019/2020 shows councillors pocketed £22,196.58 in expenses altogether, down from £24,151.63 the previous year.

Kevin Gibbs, director at Bracknell Forest Council (BFC), said: “Publishing details of our members’ allowances is an important way in which the council is transparent to its residents.

“Councillors are supported in many ways to deliver their duties, and financial reimbursement is just one of these ways.”

Why are councillors paid?

Your elected representatives get a basic allowance of £8,687 per year to carry out their duties as councillors.

If they have a special role at the council, such as leader or leader of the opposition, they will get a special allowance depending on the extra duties and responsibilities they have.

They can also claim expenses for travel, food and accommodation for when they are representing the council outside of Bracknell Forest.

Who claimed the most?

Bracknell Forest Council leader Paul Bettison took home £40,377 in 2019/2020 — almost seven per cent of the total paid out to members last year.

The Conservative councillor racked up this figure from a basic allowance, plus a special allowance of £28,954, travel expenses of £1,981 and food and drink receipts adding up to £529.

His fee for the year ending March 31 was around £700 less than his fee for the previous year.

The News asked Cllr Bettison why he takes home £40,000 in taxpayer money.

READ MORE: Why this councillor racked up £2,000 in travel allowances

He said: “I am paid it for the job that I do, which takes over 100 hours every week so it’s not a huge hourly rate, in fact, it’s barely minimum wage.

“But you don’t get into politics for the money and this compensates me for the fact I’m spending most of my waking hours doing the job, and of course that’s the way it should be for the leader of the council.

“The allowances are set by an independent committee of the public which I have no control over whatsoever.

“They take into account the fact that the ethos of the job is ‘you’re doing something for your community’.

“I believe that once the public has agreed that a sum of money is the right sum then you might as well just accept it.

“If I wasn’t giving good value for money for the people of Bracknell Forest I would reduce the amount I took or I would resign.

“[In previous] years there’s been six and seven-figure sums of money which I’ve been able to get and nobody else could have got for the borough

"I think I’ve earned my salary, which is modest by any means.”

Who claimed the least?

Before the News can reveal who took the least allowance home (*drumroll please*), there are a few caveats to note.

As you can see from the table above, there are more names listed than there are currently councillors at BFC.

READ MORE: Council spends £13,000 on biscuit allowances in five years

This is because at the start of the 2019/20 year — which ran from April 1, 2019, to March 31 2020 — local elections were held in May.

Therefore, some councillors who did not get re-elected only took home one month’s allowance (£887), whereas some newly elected councillors missed the first month’s pay and received 11 months allowance instead (£7,823).

Other names seen on the table include co-optees, who are not members of the council but who often contribute to the council’s work.

But because the News employs reporters with great mathematics skills, we’ve worked out what each of the newly-elected councillors would have been paid if they had received 12 months allowance.

So without further ado… Labour’s Kathryn Neil pocketed the least allowance, at £6,258 (which would have been £6,826.90 over a full year).

Following in the footsteps of Bracknell Forest Labour leader Cllr Mary Temperton, Cllrs Neil and Patricia Brown take 80 per cent of their basic allowance, with the other 20 per cent going back to the council.

Cllr Mary Temperton explained why: “When we first started, everybody was seeing cuts. They’ve cut this, they cut that. It was only right, we felt, at the time, the Labour group’s [allowance] should be cut to some extent.

“When we have conferences, such as local government conferences, I pay for my fees and my hotels, too.

“I really think that allowance is for councillors to do everything.

“They do help me and they do enable me to remember this is a job and I’m being paid to do it.

“I think everybody should take 80 per cent if they can.

“But I will say if someone is in a position where they are unemployed or on benefits, I would not that to stop somebody from becoming a councillor.

“If that meant they could not be able to afford to be a councillor without the 100 per cent allowance, then that would certainly be a different argument.”

Will allowances be affected by coronavirus?

Both councillors Bettison and Temperton agree the pandemic could mean the total payout is much lower this time next year.

While members are still receiving their allowances during the lockdown, expense claims could be sharply reduced.

Cllr Bettison said: “I’m anticipating that this coming year that amount will go down.

“We’re all spending a lot on consumables such as paper and ink cartridges but that won’t be anywhere near as much as we’re saving on train fares.”

Cllr Temperton added: “Most meetings are able to be done on Zoom but I still think it’s good to have the reaction when you all meet together.

“But group meetings in London with four or five people will not be needed anymore.

“I think things will be done differently.”