Councillors are set to receive a three per cent pay rise to £21,676 from April under proposals from the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru.

The basic pay of a county councillor in Ceredigion, Powys, Gwynedd and Pembrokeshire rose by 6.4 per cent last year from £19,771 to £21,044.

The year before, councillor’s pay also rose by more than £1,000, when it jumped from £18,666.

The rises followed a 17 per cent hike in salary for all councillors for 2020 in a bid to bring councillor pay in line with average earnings in order to attract a wider range of candidates to fill the roles.

In 2019, a county councillor took home £13,868 a year for carrying out their duties.

Remuneration used to be set by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales, with the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru taking over the work in 2025.

The former Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales had linked pay for councillors to the Office for National Statistics’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings since the 2022 council elections.

Its plan was to keep the link at least until the 2027 council elections, and the Commission decided to keep that link for its first report, for the current financial year.

Maintaining the link with ASHE led to a 6.4 per cent pay increase for councillors last year, and the Commission decided to review whether ASHE was still the most appropriate measure to use.

At its draft report the Commission is proposing to move from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings to the Consumer Price Index as its measure for determining increases to councillor pay for the financial year 2027-28.

The change to the Consumer Price Index from ASHE means this year’s proposed increase is three per cent.

The Commission says that “the intention of increases to remuneration is to ensure that elected members do not bear increased costs caused by changes to the cost of living whilst they carry out their public role” but that it “is fully aware of the current constraints on public funding and the impact its decisions will have on the budgets of principal councils.”

The Commission is consulting on its draft report, with the consultation closing on 17 December.

The Commission also sets pay for council leaders and executive members.

The role element of their pay is also proposed to increase by three per cent.

Chief Executive of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru, Shereen Williams MBE OStJ said: “The Commission is pleased to publish its draft remuneration report and to open its important consultation.

“Choosing the appropriate index for setting councillor pay is vital to ensuring councillors are paid fairly while making sure that we are mindful of councils’ budget situations.

“The Commission believes that adopting the Consumer Price Index instead of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings is a positive step, but it’s really important that those affected let us know their views.”