While taxpayers face rising unemployment and bills, Barnet’s councillors have awarded themselves pay increases of up to seven times the rate of inflation.

Despite public sector workers being urged to show restraint in pay increases, some councillors will take home thousands-of-pounds more from April after they rubber-stamped new pay grades on Tuesday night.

The vote took place on the same night that Conservative councillors approved cuts to services for elderly and disabled people.

Councillor Lynne Hillan’s allowance will jump by almost £5,000, to £39,397, council leader Mike Freer will pocket an additional £3,700, while councillor Andreas Tambourides’ allowance will increase by a fifth.

As of January the Consumer Price Index, the measure of inflation used by the Government, stood at three per cent, but it is expected to fall further and many in the private sector face pay freezes.

The council is also widely anticipated to announce redundancies this year as part of its continuing bid to make efficiencies.

Councillors receive a basic allowance for their work, and additional allowances for extra responsibilites they assume, such as leading a political group, sitting on or chairing a committee.

While the basic allowance will rise by only £239, or 2.5 per cent, some Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA) will increase by as much as 53 per cent.

Some local authorities limit councillors to claiming one SRA, but in March 2007 Barnet councillors voted to stack up their SRAs, allowing those with multiple responsibilities to earn thousands of pounds more.