Councillor Lambert chalks up over £32,000 in allowances

Councillor Colin Lambert

Councillors were paid over £666,000 in allowances during the last financial year, with Councillor Colin Lambert chalking up over £32,000.

Figures published by Rochdale Council show amounts vary from £6,842.61 to as much as £32,156 for Councillor Lambert, who in addition also received an allowance of £1,352 as a member of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund Advisory Committee.

The top ten allowance payments were made to:

• Colin Lambert (L) - £32,156.00
• Peter Williams (L) - £19,223.33
• Linda Robinson (L) - £18,132.00
• Jacqui Beswick (L) - £17,952.00
• Ashley Dearnley (C) - £17,215.75
• Farooq Ahmed (L) - £16,856.99
• Martin Burke (L) - £16,594.23
• Donna Martin (L) - £16,594.23
• Janet Darnborough (C) - £15,540.00
• Lil Murphy (L) - £15,540.00

The total figure paid in allowances was £666,051.85.

The basic allowance paid to all Rochdale Borough Council members during 2011/12 was £7,644.

Some councillors receive a special responsibility allowance in addition to the basic allowance, for additional responsibilities.

Special responsibilities include being a member of the Cabinet, being a chair of a committee, or taking lead responsibility for dealing with particular areas of work.

Allowances are also paid by the Police, Fire and Rescue Authority, Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund Advisory Committee to councillors who are nominated to work with these external bodies. These allowances are paid by the respective authorities - not the council.

As the Council's representative on the Police Authority board, Councillor Pat Colclough was paid £11,622.48 in addition to her £8,058.47 council allowance.

The total paid to councillors from external bodies in the 2011-12 financial year was: £20,970.20.