Council leader Susan Aitken to be paid £58,719 this year as councillors sign off wage packets for official roles

A councillors’ basic annual earnings is set at £19,571 but they get a greater sum with extra responsibilities including chairing committees.

The council’s new deputy leader, SNP Councillor Ricky Bell – who is also city treasurer and convenor for final inclusion – will receive £43,132. Earning the same is party colleague Councillor Greg Hepburn as business manager and convenor for open government.

Newly appointed Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren, SNP, will get £44,039 for the year ahead while depute Lord Provost Christy Mearns, Greens, is to earn £32,960

Twenty three “senior” councillors will earn £735,054 between them. That total excludes the council leader and Lord Provosts’ allowances.

Six of the senior councillors will earn £36,969. They include chair of Glasgow Life and convenor for culture sport and international relations SNP councillor Annette Christie and Allan Casey, convenor for workforce and homelessness and addiction services.

Another 14 councillors, which includes committee chairs and leaders of the opposition will get an allowance of £28,144 each.

The allowances were presented in a paper put in front of councillors at a full council meeting yesterday morning at the headquarters in George Square. No comments were made.

The amounts have been decided for the financial year of 2022 to end of March 2023. The allowances are set out in legislation.

A council spokesperson said: “The Scottish Parliament sets the salaries of council leaders and civic heads across Scotland – and, under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act also gives local authorities a set of fairly strict rules within which they can set their own scheme of allowances for other senior members.

“This includes an overall ceiling for allowances, plus a maximum number of senior roles that can attract one – in Glasgow’s case, 24. Councils are also not permitted to pay any other councillor an allowance that is more than 75% of the allowance the Parliament has set for its Leader.

“The scheme that was approved by council deals with those other senior members, but not the Leader or Lord Provost.”