COUNCILLORS have ignored an independent recommendation to increase their allowances and voted to freeze them.

Members of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council believed increasing their allowances at a time of austerity would not be acceptable.

The report from the Independent Remuneration Panel recommended that allowances should be increased by 2.2 per cent while the leader would have seen a rise of almost £2,000, taking the payment up to £14,880 from £12,890.

However, members from all parties agreed that it would be inprudent to accept the recommendation when members of the public are struggling.

Cllr Glyn Nightingale, cabinet member for corporate resources, asked members to reject the decision and received cross party support.

Conservative councillor Val Halton said: "I cannot vote in favour of this recommendation."

While Labour group leader Cllr Sue Jeffrey said: "It was the intention of the group to freeze the allowances. I can see no justification for the recommendation in this report."

Former leader George Dunning sympathised with the IRP members, he said: "They have an invidious job because their recommendations keep getting kicked into touch. If I was them I would resign because what's the point in making recommendations when they are nearly always rejected."

Cllr Dunning did raise concerns that the authority's leader was falling behind all the other councils in the Tees Valley when it came to leader's allowances which could result in the role being taken less seriously across the region.

However, current council leader Mary Lanigan said: "I don't consider myself any less of a leader than any other leader in the area. What they get is their business.

"I don't believe we can justify taking this increase when everybody else is facing the consequences of austerity."