Councillor allowances at Babergh District Council will increase by more than £1,000 after next year's council elections.

A basic allowance of £6,510, approved in an unanimous vote by the council on Tuesday, was referred to by one councillor as "almost pocket money".

The approved rate was £1,178 higher than the basic allowance given in 2021/22.

It was also £901 higher than that suggested by the independent remuneration panel (IRP), a group which makes recommendations about allowances.

The higher rates than those suggested by the panel were based on the decisions of a task and finish group of councillors.

They suggested a lower public service discount – the rate at which allowances are cut because part of a councillor's role should be voluntary, driven by a desire to serve the public.

The discount recommended by the IRP was 40 per cent but the group of councillors put forward a 35 per cent decrease.

The group also suggested a six per cent uplift after this discount, in-line with the pay increase of £1,925 offered to council employees in April.

The six per cent uplift was based on an average officer salary of £32,284 in April 2022, six per cent of which is close to £1,925.

The scheme of allowances was last updated in 2018 and will come into effect on May 8, 2023, after Babergh's council elections.

Liberal Democrat councillor David Busby said: "We are cheap – if we were doing this job in a private sector, we would be getting ten times what we get here. This is almost pocket money.

"There might become a point where we will have to start thinking about the money councillors get as a salary, to encourage people to become councillors.

"At the moment, it is easier to get a new Prime Minister than it is to get someone to stand as councillor."

In September, Babergh and Mid Suffolk district councils held a 'Become a Councillor' event for residents at the council offices to encourage people to stand as councillors next year.

Vice chair of the council, Independent Cllr Derek Davis, said: "I am never comfortable with councillors seeming to give themselves a pay rise.

"I'm even more concerned this time due to the cost-of-living crisis, but I am heartened that this has been linked to officers' pay.

"We are giving the administration after us an increase, and it is important that prospective councillors can see what that increase will be.

"It won't make them rich but I believe the whole point of being a councillor is to represent the residents."

The new scheme also included the money paid to councillors with 'special responsibilities', whose roles include a higher level of accountability than other councillors. These are calculated based on the increased basic allowance.

The leader of the council will get a special responsibility allowance that's 2.5 times the basic allowance, taking home a total of £22,785.

The special responsibility allowance for the deputy leader of the council and cabinet members with portfolios will be 1.25 times the basic allowance, making their total allowance £14,647.

The chair of the council, the development control committee and the joint scrutiny committee will get a special responsibility allowance equal to the basic allowance, taking home £13,020 in total.

Political group leaders with five or more members will get a special responsibility allowance that's three quarters the basic allowance, taking home £11,392.

Cabinet members without portfolio, chair of the regulatory committee, chair and vice chair of the joint audit and standards committee, vice chair of the development control committee and deputy chairman of the council will get a special responsibility allowance that's half the basic allowance, making their total allowance £9,735.

The group of councillors that considered the scheme of allowances before they were put to full council decided against the IRP's recommendation that each councillor should be limited to just one special responsibility.

The IRP suggested this to make it easier for the public to calculate the allowances of individual councillors and prevent the leader of the council gaining a lower total allowance than another councillor.