# Highland: senior pay and councillor allowances url: https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/councils/pay-and-allowances/highland/ updated: 29 September 2026 licence: Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Figures: each source's own licence, listed under Sources. publisher: [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk) # Highland: senior pay and councillor allowances Last updated 29 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. [How each figure is worked out](/methodology/). In its draft statement of accounts for 2025-26, Highland reports total remuneration of **£194,531** for its chief executive (excluding employer pension contributions), **23** employees paid £100,000 or more, and **£2,207,000** paid in members' allowances. ## Key figures - £194,531Chief Executive, 2025-26 - 23Staff paid £100,000 or more, 2025-26 - £2,207,000Members' allowances, 2025-26 - £25,982Basic allowance per councillor, 2025-26 ## Chief Executive Total remuneration of **£194,531** in 2025-26, excluding employer pension contributions. That is up 5.7% on 2024-25 (£184,000). The median among the 4 other Scottish councils collected so far is £210,884. From the accounts: Derek Brown, Chief Executive. Salary, fees & allowances 194,531; taxable expenses -; total remuneration 194,531 (2024/25 total 184,000). Pension contributions shown separately in Table 7a: 33,499 (2025/26) and 32,200 (2024/25). A total including pension is not printed. The chief executive salary is set by reference to SJNC national arrangements. PDF page 41 (printed page 40), Table 3a; pension contributions in Table 7a ## Employees paid £50,000 or more 2,052 employees in 2025-26, up 57.0% on 2024-25 (1,307). 23 were paid £100,000 or more, 9.7 per 100,000 residents. The median among the 4 other Scottish councils collected so far is 10.2 per 100,000. | Band | 2025-26 | 2024-25 | | --- | --- | --- | | £50,000 to £54,999Details | 1,017 | 423 | | 2024-25423 | | | | £55,000 to £59,999Details | 264 | 277 | | 2024-25277 | | | | £60,000 to £64,999Details | 279 | 218 | | 2024-25218 | | | | £65,000 to £69,999Details | 167 | 138 | | 2024-25138 | | | | £70,000 to £74,999Details | 120 | 120 | | 2024-25120 | | | | £75,000 to £79,999Details | 100 | 50 | | 2024-2550 | | | | £80,000 to £84,999Details | 38 | 29 | | 2024-2529 | | | | £85,000 to £89,999Details | 26 | 19 | | 2024-2519 | | | | £90,000 to £94,999Details | 12 | 6 | | 2024-256 | | | | £95,000 to £99,999Details | 6 | 7 | | 2024-257 | | | | £100,000 to £104,999Details | 3 | 8 | | 2024-258 | | | | £105,000 to £109,999Details | 6 | 5 | | 2024-255 | | | | £110,000 to £114,999Details | 10 | 1 | | 2024-251 | | | | £120,000 to £124,999Details | 0 | 2 | | 2024-252 | | | | £125,000 to £129,999Details | 0 | 2 | | 2024-252 | | | | £130,000 to £134,999Details | 3 | 1 | | 2024-251 | | | | £150,000 to £154,999Details | 0 | 0 | | 2024-250 | | | | £180,000 to £184,999Details | 0 | 1 | | 2024-251 | | | | £190,000 to £194,999Details | 1 | 0 | | 2024-250 | | | From the accounts: Table 4 'General Disclosure by Pay Band': 'The number of Highland Council employees who received remuneration of £50,000 or more during the year ... If there are no employees within a band, the band is omitted'. 2024/25 restated. No total row is printed (our sums: 2,052 for 2025/26; 1,308 for 2024/25). The table does not say whether teachers or senior employees are included. Dashes recorded as 0. Source: Highland, [The Highland Council Annual Accounts 2025/26 (unaudited)](https://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/file/7266/highland-council-unaudited-accounts-2025-26) (draft), PDF page 44 (printed page 43), Remuneration report Table 4. Read by hand; checked 2026-09-24. ## Councillors' allowances £2,207,000 in 2025-26, up 20.6% on 2024-25 (£1,830,000), or £9.30 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: "Members' Allowances and Expenses: Remuneration 2,072 (2024/25 1,698); Travel and subsistence 125 (122); All other expenses 10 (10); Total 2,207 (1,830) £000" (PDF page 40 (printed page 39), Table 2) Published allowances: . ## What this data does and doesn't show - Every figure is as Highland 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). The council's separate councillors' salaries and expenses publication was not retrieved in the time available. ## Related pages - [Back to Council senior pay and councillor allowances](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/councils/pay-and-allowances/) - [How much is council tax and what does it pay for?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/council-tax/) - [Who is my MP, and what does their office cost?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/mps/) - [Where does my tax money actually go?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/for-every-100-pounds-of-tax/) ## More from this publisher - [UK tax calculators](https://howlongisit.co.uk) Published by [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). The figures belong to the publishers listed under Sources and are used under their licences. Figures last updated 29 September 2026.