Councillor allowances

Although councillors are volunteers and unpaid, they do receive payments to help meet the costs of representing their communities across the 5 townships of Rochdale North, Rochdale South, Pennines (Firgrove, Littleborough, Milnrow, Newhey, Smallbridge and Wardle), Heywood and Middleton.

Basic allowance

All local councils must pay their members a basic allowance - the same level for all members, which is intended to cover their time commitments and incidental costs.

It includes an amount to cover all travel they may incur when undertaking duties within the borough, subsistence and a contribution towards landline telephone costs.

Special responsibility allowance

Some councillors receive a special responsibility allowance in addition to the basic allowance, for additional responsibilities.

Special responsibilities include being a member of the Cabinet, being a chair of a committee, taking the lead responsibility for dealing with particular areas of work, or being appointed to certain other bodies.

External allowances

Allowances are also paid by the Greater Manchester Pension Fund Advisory Committee to councillors who are nominated to work with these external bodies.

These allowances are paid by the respective authorities - not the council.

Legal information

You can view our policy on member allowances in our constitution.

Payment data

You can view the payments we've made to councillors on data.gov.uk.