Question reference: S6O-00199
- Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 15 September 2021
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Current status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 23 September 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the current basic annual salary of £18,604 for local councillors is fair when many are working full time in the role.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to fair income for our councillors, which is why we introduced a new mechanism in 2017 that ensures Councillors' pay is increased annually in line with the percentage increase in the median annual earnings of public sector workers in Scotland. However, I appreciate that the annual salary of an ordinary Councillor is seen as one of the main contributing factors to the lack of diversity among Councillors in Scotland, and I am open to discussing with COSLA and wider stakeholders how we might support them to address this issue.