MEMBERS of Wiltshire Police Authority, including Swindon councillors, have accepted hikes in their allowance of up to 150 per cent.

The Adver has discovered that annual allowances for lead members have risen from £2,818 to £7,000 in just one year.

At the same time the rate for the authority’s chairman has shot up from £12,858 to £16,000 – a 24 per cent increase, while the vice-chairmen now receive £9,000 – up 37 per cent from the £6,578 they received in 2008/09.

Even the basic rate for members has gone up by more than £1,000 – from £7,476 to £8,600.

There has also been a completely new role – APA Police authority council representative – created, at a cost of £3,485 per year.

The 17 members of the authority, including three Swindon councillors, have duties including deciding the annual police budget and determining how much money should be raised through the council tax.

Susie Squires, campaign manager at the right-wing pressure group Tax Payers’ Alliance, said she was shocked by the figures and admitted that they were some of the steepest hikes she had ever seen.

She said: “These increases are staggering and out of all proportion. The taxpayers of Swindon and Wiltshire who are footing the bill are facing redundancies and pay cuts. Public sector staff should not be receiving any increases in pay, let alone ones as dramatic as these.

“Wiltshire Police Authority has some serious explaining to do about this.”

Chairman Chris Hoare pointed out that the pay rise had followed a national review and that it was the first increase in four years.

He said: “The fact is that the responsibility of the Police Authority is increasing ever more and is requiring people to give up a lot of their time. If you are going to attract the right people to the job then you have to pay them an allowance that is at least going to allow them to live.

“We didn’t have to bring in an independent panel but we thought it was only right and proper. They proposed these increases as they thought they were fair and we accepted them.”

Coun Brian Ford (Con, Wroughton and Chiseldon) is the vice-chairman for Swindon.

He said: “We were well under the minimum allowance and now I think you will find we are just about up to the minimum.

“There was discussion about whether this was the best time to make these changes but it was felt that it was justified.

“There is a huge amount of work that goes into this role and people have been given additional jobs. There are 17 of us and the budget that we are discussing is £100m so, as you can imagine, we take it very seriously.

“I would say that I put in at least 15 to 25 hours every week.”

Others on the payroll include Swindon councillors Rod Bluh and Ray Fisher, as well as Wiltshire councillors Mollie Groom, Christopher Humphries, Carole Soden, Margaret Taylor, Judy Rooke and Ian West.

The rest of the authority is made up of independent members.

Figures for Wiltshire still compare favourably to nearby Thames Valley Police Authority, where the chairman receives £20,180 a year, vice-chairmen and lead members take home £16,817, and committee chairmen scoop £13,454. Basic rate allowances are similar – at £8,969.