Some Macclesfield councillors claimed no additional expenses last year due to the pandemic.

Cheshire East paid out more than £1.25 million in allowances and expenses to its 82 councillors during lockdown – a reduction of nearly £39,000 on the previous year.

The reduction of overall expenses was mainly down to a lack of travel to meetings - however - travel expenses were still claimed.

Elected councillor expenses include the basic allowance, the special responsibility allowance, dependants' carers' allowances, travel and subsistence and co-optees' allowances.

The allowances published cover the financial year from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

We've compiled a bullet points list of how much every borough councillor who represents our area was remunerated.

There are six Cheshire East councillors across Congleton, four men and two women.

And Macclesfield Nub News readers can find out how much their councillor claimed below:

Please note: The basic allowance is for each councillor is £12,351.00.

Congleton Cheshire East Councillor Expenses 2021/22

For impartiality, listed in no particuar order

• Cllr Suzie Akers Smith (Congleton West, Independent) who is also Cycling and Walking Champion and Vice-Chair of the Southern Planning Committee, claimed £12,432.41, comprising of a basic allowance and £81.41 in travel expenses.
• Cllr David Brown (Congleton East, Conservative) claimed a basic allowance only, with no additional expenses claimed.
• Cllr George Hayes (Congleton West, Conservative) also claimed a basic allowance only, with no additional expenses claimed.
• Cllr Sally Holland (Congleton West, Conservative) was another Congleton Conservative who claimed a basic allowance only, with no additional expenses claimed.
• Cllr Rob Moreton (Congleton East, Independent) also claimed a basic allowance only, with no additional expenses claimed.
• Cllr Dennis Murphy (Congleton East, Liberal Democrats) claimed £12,411.57 comprising of a basic allowance, plus £60.57 incurred in travel expenses - as he serves as Vice-Chair of the Scrutiny Committee.

While there is a hint of irony with the councils walking and cycling champion claiming for travel (petrol or public transport costs) - Congleton councillors generally claimed less than their Macclesfield contemporaries.

Only two Congleton councillors claimed additional expenses on top of their basic £12,432.41 remuneration.

Overall, Congleton's sextet of Cheshire East councillors claimed £74,247.98, of the £1.25 million paid out across the borough.

Cheshire East's leader and Labour councillor for Sandbach Heath & East Sam Corcoran had this to say on the revealed figures.

"These allowances represent a fair reimbursement for the time and personal costs incurred by elected members when carrying out their responsibilities on behalf of the council and the residents of Cheshire East.

"I wish to thank our democratic services team for their hard work in presenting this schedule of allowances in a timely manner.

"We are a large unitary authority, with 82 elected members and the total cost of allowances is proportionate and in line with most other unitary authorities in England."

The reduction of overall expenses was mainly down to a lack of travel to meetings.

Latest figures show that £35,693 of the total saving was down to a cutback in mileage.

The 82 Cheshire East councillors claimed £6,271 for travel between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 compared to £41,964 the previous year.

Nearly one third of that total £6,271 travel expense pay out went to deputy council leader Craig Browne, who claimed £1,976 for travel in the 2020/21 financial year.

Topping the list for allowances paid is council leader Sam Corcoran, who received £39,401.

That was made up of the basic £12,351 allowance all 82 councillors receive plus a special responsibility allowance (SRA) of £27,050 for being leader. He did not claim any travel expenses.

Cllr Corcoran also said: "It is great news that the mileage has reduced very significantly and that's because of people working from home or using their cars less.

"I hope that people continue to walk and cycle more and use their cars less for climate change reasons because that reduces the carbon footprint of the council."

He criticised the government's 'bizarre decision' to ban remote council meetings.

"Those worked well," said Cllr Corcoran.

"They reduced the need to travel, they reduced the costs of the council and we were able to make decisions that way so myself, and nearly all the council leaders, are pushing the government to give councils the power to hold remote meetings so we could decide when to have meetings remotely and when to have them in person."

Cllr Browne (Alderley Edge, Ind) received the second highest pay out, totalling £31,455.

This included the basic allowance, the SRA of £17,127 for being deputy leader plus the travel expenses.

Cheshire East was still operating under the cabinet system during the 2020/21 year so the eight other cabinet members were next on the list.

They received at least £26,000 each, which included a £14,185 special responsibility allowance on top of the basic allowance, with the exception of Cllr Laura Jeuda who received £12,938 SRA, so her total was £25,289.

The Congleton councillor who received the most public money was Councillor Suzie Akers Smith.

The exact total council payout for all 82 councillors was £1,252,495 of taxpayers money.

You can view a full breakdown of Congleton borough councillor expenses, along with all Cheshire East councillors on the Cheshire East Council website.

You can contact your local councillor and find out which represent you via this link.

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