THE Leader of Warrington Borough Council’s Independent Group is calling for councillor allowances to be frozen and possibly even reduced as the authority prepares to make tens of millions of pounds of further savings.
Cllr Stuart Mann will bring a motion to Full Council at Times Square this evening calling for no further increases to both councillors’ Basic Allowance and Special Responsibility Allowances while Warrington remains in its current financial position.
The motion asks for the Independent Remuneration Panel to urgently consider suspending the annual increases already agreed through to May 2028 and to consider whether there is a case for reducing allowances.
It comes as Warrington faces one of the most difficult financial periods in the council’s history.
The authority has identified around £39 million of savings and is now considering a further £51.2 million package as it attempts to address a £178.9 million gap in its Medium-Term Financial Plan.
The proposed savings reach across the organisation, including significant changes within Adult Social Care, reductions in staffing and changes to the way some services are delivered.
Cllr Mann said the scale of the challenge meant the consequences would ultimately be felt across Warrington.
“There will be very few people in Warrington who are completely untouched by what the council now must do. For some residents it will mean paying more for less. For others, it could mean a service they rely upon changing, reducing or disappearing.
“Communities are going to be asked to take on more themselves, while some of our most vulnerable residents and their families will inevitably be concerned about what changes to social care could mean for them. Behind all of these figures are council employees.
“I want to be absolutely clear the Independent Group stand in solidarity with colleagues across Warrington Borough Council whose jobs are now at risk. These are people with families, mortgages and bills who have continued delivering services during an incredibly difficult period for the organisation.”
Adult Social Care accounts for the largest element of the latest savings programme, with proposals intended to deliver around £34 million over three years.
Cllr Mann said the need to transform services and make the council financially sustainable had to be recognised, but that councillors could not separate themselves from the sacrifices being asked of others.
“This motion isn’t about suggesting councillor allowances created Warrington’s financial problems. They plainly didn’t and freezing them won’t solve a financial challenge of this magnitude.
“It is about principle.
“If we are asking residents, employees, service users and communities to accept extremely difficult decisions in order to put this council back onto a sustainable footing, I believe elected members should be prepared to demonstrate restraint too.”
The financial uncertainty also extends beyond the savings currently being considered.
At the recent Scrutiny meeting, Council Leader Cllr Hans Mundry indicated that there was a good chance Warrington would need to seek further Exceptional Financial Support from government and that another request for permission to increase council tax above the normal 5% referendum threshold could also be necessary.
Warrington has already required Exceptional Financial Support to balance its finances, with the government confirming support of £87.029 million for 2025/26 and £92.047 million for 2026/27. Council tax increased by 7.48% for 2026/27 after the government permitted Warrington to go above the usual threshold.
Cllr Mann said that uncertainty strengthened the case for acting now.
“None of us can say with certainty today what residents will ultimately be asked to pay next year, what further savings may be necessary or how many council employees could be affected before this process is finished.
“That is exactly why I don’t believe we should have an arrangement which automatically continues increasing councillor allowances through to 2028.
“This is not about attacking councillors or diminishing the work we do, it is simply about saying that, in these extraordinary circumstances, what we receive now should be enough for the time being.
“Leadership sometimes means asking others to make difficult choices, but it also means being willing to apply the same principle of restraint to ourselves.
I would expect the motion will not be well received by all groups and I would not be surprised to see proposed amendments put forward to water down its intention, but when you consider Cllr Allowances have gone up by over 20% since May 2024 and Special Responsibility allowances have gone up by around 35% I think we have gone way past the argument often put forward by others that freezing it at today’s level somehow makes public service the preserve of those who can afford it particularly when the people we represent are being asked to pay more council tax, accept reduced services and manage pressures on their own household finances “
The motion below will be considered by Full Council tonight.
Motion 1 – Councillor Allowances
Proposed by Cllr Stuart Mann
Seconded by Eunice Peters
Council notes:
Warrington Borough Council continues to face an exceptionally challenging financial position, which requires significant savings and difficult decisions affecting council services, employees and residents.
In December 2025, Council agreed that the Basic Allowance paid to elected members and Special Responsibility Allowances would increase annually in line with the NJC Staff Award until May 2028.
At that time, the changes agreed were estimated to increase the annual cost of members’ allowances by £58,554.27.
Council believes:
While the work undertaken by elected members should be properly recognised, councillors should also demonstrate restraint while asking the organisation, its employees and residents to bear the consequences of the Council’s financial position.
Council therefore resolves:
1. That it is the intention of Council that no further annual increases should be made to the Basic Allowance or Special Responsibility Allowances while the Council remains in its current financial position.
2. To request that the Independent Remuneration Panel urgently consider the proposed suspension of the existing annual indexation arrangements and report back to Council at the earliest opportunity, to enable Council to amend the Members’ Allowances Scheme accordingly.
3. To ask the Independent Remuneration Panel also to consider whether, given the Council’s current financial position, there is a case for reducing the Basic Allowance and/or Special Responsibility Allowances.
4. Subject to the statutory process being completed, that the freeze remain in place until Council determines that its financial position has sufficiently improved and expressly agrees to lift it.
