Councillors pay to increase by 6.4% from 2026

Pay for councillors in Wales will increase by 6.4% from April 2026, the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru has confirmed.

The uplift will take the basic salary for elected members to £21,044 for the 2026-27 financial year.

The increase is set out in the Commission’s Annual Remuneration Report, published today, marking the first time the body has issued the determinations since taking over responsibility for councillor pay.

Remuneration arrangements were previously handled by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales, with the duties transferring to the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru in 2025.

The Commission said the rise mirrors the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), maintaining the established link between councillor salaries and average earnings across Wales.

The former Remuneration Panel had introduced the ASHE benchmark ahead of the 2022 local government elections, with a stated intention to retain the connection until at least the 2027 elections.

The Commission has opted to continue that approach for 2026-27.

However, officials confirmed the earnings link will now be reviewed, with alternative mechanisms for setting councillor pay to be explored ahead of the next electoral cycle.

Consultation

The Commission consulted on its draft report in September 2025. According to the final document, eight principal councils called for a smaller increase than that proposed, while one authority argued there should be no uplift at all.

Despite those representations, the Commission concluded that maintaining the ASHE link provided a consistent and transparent basis for determining pay.

In addition to the basic salary, the role-related payments for council leaders and executive members will also rise by 6.4%.

Allowances for members of community and town councils will remain unchanged.

Welcoming the publication of the report, Chief Executive of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru, Shereen Williams, said: “The Commission is pleased to publish its first remuneration report since responsibilities were transferred to us from the former Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales.

“We’d like to thank councils and others who responded to the consultation. Many considered arguments were made during the consultation.”

Ms Williams highlighted research undertaken by the Commission into councillors’ workloads.

“Councillors across Wales serve their communities with dedication, and run services that we all rely on every day. Research by the Commission shows that councillors are working an average of 28 hours per week on their roles, with many of them doing this on top of another job.”

She also acknowledged concerns about financial pressures facing local authorities and residents.

“We recognise however that council budgets are stretched and the cost of living has increased for everyone, and we’ll look at new ways of deciding councillor pay for future years over the coming months.”

Review

The Commission said it will outline its plans for reviewing how councillor pay is determined later this year.

The remuneration framework covers elected members and co-opted members across principal councils, national park authorities, and fire and rescue authorities, as well as community and town councils.

The full Annual Remuneration Report and previous determinations are available on the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru website.

Average earnings data used in calculating the uplift are drawn from ASHE 2024, published by the Office for National Statistics.