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Fife: senior pay and councillor allowances
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
In its draft statement of accounts for 2025-26, Fife reports total remuneration of £207,853 for its chief executive (excluding employer pension contributions), 39 employees paid £100,000 or more, and £2,223,000 paid in members' allowances.
Key figures
- £207,853Chief Executive, 2025-26
- 39Staff paid £100,000 or more, 2025-26
- £2,223,000Members' allowances, 2025-26
- £25,982Basic allowance per councillor, 2025-26
Chief Executive
Total remuneration of £207,853 in 2025-26, excluding employer pension contributions. That is up 4.6% on 2024-25 (£198,657). The median among the 4 other Scottish councils collected so far is £204,223.
From the accounts: Ken Gourlay, Chief Executive. Salary, fees & allowances 207,853 (2025-26) and 198,657 (2024-25); employer's pension contributions 44,688 and 41,269 shown in a separate column. Note 4: remuneration includes Returning Officer payments of NIL in 2025-26 (2024-25 £5,708). A total including pension is not printed.
PDF pages 40-41, Remuneration report Table A
Employees paid £50,000 or more
3,053 employees in 2025-26, up 60.7% on 2024-25 (1,900). 39 were paid £100,000 or more, 10.4 per 100,000 residents. The median among the 4 other Scottish councils collected so far is 9.8 per 100,000.
| Band | 2025-26 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
£50,000 to £54,999Details for £50,000 to £54,999 | 1,486 | 790 |
| ||
£55,000 to £59,999Details for £55,000 to £59,999 | 601 | 367 |
| ||
£60,000 to £64,999Details for £60,000 to £64,999 | 333 | 198 |
| ||
£65,000 to £69,999Details for £65,000 to £69,999 | 210 | 207 |
| ||
£70,000 to £74,999Details for £70,000 to £74,999 | 145 | 131 |
| ||
£75,000 to £79,999Details for £75,000 to £79,999 | 121 | 116 |
| ||
£80,000 to £84,999Details for £80,000 to £84,999 | 90 | 30 |
| ||
£85,000 to £89,999Details for £85,000 to £89,999 | 8 | 8 |
| ||
£90,000 to £94,999Details for £90,000 to £94,999 | 7 | 16 |
| ||
£95,000 to £99,999Details for £95,000 to £99,999 | 13 | 7 |
| ||
£100,000 to £104,999Details for £100,000 to £104,999 | 6 | 3 |
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£105,000 to £109,999Details for £105,000 to £109,999 | 6 | 9 |
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£110,000 to £114,998Details for £110,000 to £114,998 | 9 | 5 |
| ||
£115,000 to £119,999Details for £115,000 to £119,999 | 6 | 9 |
| ||
£120,000 to £124,999Details for £120,000 to £124,999 | 6 | 0 |
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£125,000 to £134,999Details for £125,000 to £134,999 | 0 | 0 |
| ||
£135,000 to £139,999Details for £135,000 to £139,999 | 1 | 0 |
| ||
£140,000 to £144,999Details for £140,000 to £144,999 | 1 | 0 |
| ||
£145,000 to £149,999Details for £145,000 to £149,999 | 0 | 3 |
| ||
£150,000 to £154,999Details for £150,000 to £154,999 | 3 | 0 |
| ||
£155,000 to £194,999Details for £155,000 to £194,999 | 0 | 0 |
| ||
£195,000 to £199,999Details for £195,000 to £199,999 | 0 | 1 |
| ||
£200,000 to £204,999Details for £200,000 to £204,999 | 0 | 0 |
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£205,000 to £209,999Details for £205,000 to £209,999 | 1 | 0 |
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From the accounts: Table C: 'the total number of Council employees receiving more than £50,000 remuneration for the year (including any associated redundancy or early retirement payments)'. Totals 3,053 (2025-26) and 1,900 (2024-25). Some bands are combined as printed (£125,000-£134,999; £155,000-£194,999). The table does not say whether teachers or the senior employees in Table A are included.
Source: Fife, Fife Council Annual Accounts 2025-26 (Submitted for audit 30 June 2026) (draft), PDF page 43, Remuneration report Table C. Read by hand; checked 2026-09-24.
Councillors' allowances
£2,223,000 in 2025-26, up 21.4% on 2024-25 (£1,831,000), or £5.94 per resident. The median among the 4 other Scottish councils collected so far is £4.65 per resident.
The basic allowance for each councillor is £25,982 a year (2025-26). It is set nationally: £25,982 for 2025-26.
From the accounts: "Total salaries, allowances and expenses paid to all Councillors: Salaries 2.180 (2024-25 1.791); Other Expenses and Allowances 0.043 (0.040); Total 2.223 (1.831) £m" (PDF page 37, Remuneration report)
What this data does and doesn't show
- Every figure is as Fife printed it, in accounts that have not yet been audited. Counts in the £100,000 figure are our sum of the council's bands.
- Comparisons are with the other Scottish councils read so far; no national figure is published for England.
- Scottish councillors are paid salaries under national regulations; basic rate is the national councillor remuneration for 2025-26 (SSI 2025/8). Table A shows the Leader of Council salary as 60,779 (2025-26) and 49,810 (2024-25). Fife's website blocks automated downloads; the accounts were read in a browser. The council's separate councillors' salaries and expenses publication was not retrieved.