THE amount of allowances paid out to borough councillors has risen by £15,000.

A total of £607,159 was paid out in allowances to Basingstoke and Deane borough councillors in the 2017/18 financial year, up from £592,070 in the 2016/17 year.

As leader of the council, Clive Sanders received the biggest allowance figure of £33,347.12.

Only one other member, deputy leader of the council Terri Reid, received in excess of £20,000 for the financial year. Cllr Reid received £22,140.01.

Councillors receive a basic rate of £6,876.01, plus special responsibility allowance is given to those who sit in positions of responsibility such as on the authority's cabinet and heads of committees, while travel and subsistence allowances can also be claimed.

Cllr Sanders also claimed the highest amount of travelling and subsistence allowances - £3,563.10 for the year which works out at around £68 per week. This was up from the £2,656.30 the council leader claimed in the 2016/17 year.

The council leader said: ”The costs are a reflection of the number of commitments that I have as leader at the council or on behalf of the council externally including my role as a board member of the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).”

Only 16 councillors claimed for travelling and subsistence allowances and only three received in excess of £1,000 - Cllrs Donald Sherlock, John Izett and Paul Frankum, who served as mayor in the 2017/18 year and so travelled to events throughout the borough of his own volition.

The overall rise of just over £15,000 is roughly in line with the current rate of inflation - 2.4 per cent which would equate to an increase of £14,571.81.

Note on table above - for space, members of committees or sub-committees who are not councillors have been omitted from this list for space.