Highland Council warned to ‘read the room’ in run-up to vote for £500k pay rise for senior roles

The council have already budgeted for the rise after the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC) brought their report to the Scottish Government.

By Will Angus, Local Democracy Reporter

March 25 2025, 3:17 pm

Councillors will vote for the rises on Thursday. Image: Jason Hedges/ DC Thomson.

Highland Council are set to vote for an almost 22% pay rise for their senior councillors.

This means pay could go up by between £5k – £11k, depending on council position.

The council say the extra pay, totalling almost £500k, has already been budgeted for.

However, opposition councillors have asked the council to consider “reading the room” ahead of the decision on Thursday.

How much could senior councillor pay go up?

The leader and convener of the council could see 22% rises equivalent to £10,981 and £8,234 a year respectively.

Other senior council positions, including opposition leader and leader of the Inverness committee will increase by between £5,095 and £7,108.

The would equate to an increase of 21.7% which is the same as the increase for regular councillors that was previously agreed by the Scottish Government.

Highland Council are allowed a leader, convenor and up to 19 additional senior council positions.

This includes current senior positions listed in the council’s report, with standard councillor pay at the end. Will Angus/DCT Media.

What will it cost?

The pay increases, if agreed, will cost the council £490k and bring the councillor pay total to £2.3 million.

The Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC) assessed councillor pay back in 2023.

The Scottish Government agreed with their recommendation and set the 1st of April 2025 as the date for the councillor pay increases to come into effect.

As a result this increase has already been accounted for in this year’s budget, which was agreed on the 6th of March.

Highland Council increased council tax and council house rents as part of the budget which was agreed on the 6th March. Supplied by DC Thomson Design Team.

What did the SLARC find?

In a survey of Scottish councillors, SLARC said ‘formal council duties’ for the majority of councillors took up 26 hours a week.

44% said ‘informal duties’ added over 16 hours a week to the total commitment.

The majority of councillors (51%) said council work came in addition to their alternative full or part-time employment.

As part of their pay recommendation, SLARC said previous pay levels are a barrier for under-represented groups to become councillors.

Inverness Labour councillor Michael Gregson has spoken out against the increases.

What have councillors said?

Labour councillor for Inverness Central Michael Gregson said: “With the 7% council tax rise, rents up by 8%, and the pre-existing higher prices people pay in the Highlands, this pay award is just wrong.

“They’re not reading the room.”

He added that senior councillors should not take a pay rise when “many people are not impressed with the council’s performance.”

“This is head-in-the-sand stuff, ignoring the very evident issues which are far from being fixed – in roads and infrastructure, education, social work, housing…”

Green Aird and Loch Ness councillor Chris Ballance said: “Councillor salaries are determined nationally by the Scottish Government, and are the same across Scotland.

“The only decision in the hands of local authorities is the salary of senior leadership.”

The final decision on councillor pay will be made by councillors on Thursday.