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Highland: 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, 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 for £50,000 to £54,999 | 1,017 | 423 |
| ||
£55,000 to £59,999Details for £55,000 to £59,999 | 264 | 277 |
| ||
£60,000 to £64,999Details for £60,000 to £64,999 | 279 | 218 |
| ||
£65,000 to £69,999Details for £65,000 to £69,999 | 167 | 138 |
| ||
£70,000 to £74,999Details for £70,000 to £74,999 | 120 | 120 |
| ||
£75,000 to £79,999Details for £75,000 to £79,999 | 100 | 50 |
| ||
£80,000 to £84,999Details for £80,000 to £84,999 | 38 | 29 |
| ||
£85,000 to £89,999Details for £85,000 to £89,999 | 26 | 19 |
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£90,000 to £94,999Details for £90,000 to £94,999 | 12 | 6 |
| ||
£95,000 to £99,999Details for £95,000 to £99,999 | 6 | 7 |
| ||
£100,000 to £104,999Details for £100,000 to £104,999 | 3 | 8 |
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£105,000 to £109,999Details for £105,000 to £109,999 | 6 | 5 |
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£110,000 to £114,999Details for £110,000 to £114,999 | 10 | 1 |
| ||
£120,000 to £124,999Details for £120,000 to £124,999 | 0 | 2 |
| ||
£125,000 to £129,999Details for £125,000 to £129,999 | 0 | 2 |
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£130,000 to £134,999Details for £130,000 to £134,999 | 3 | 1 |
| ||
£150,000 to £154,999Details for £150,000 to £154,999 | 0 | 0 |
| ||
£180,000 to £184,999Details for £180,000 to £184,999 | 0 | 1 |
| ||
£190,000 to £194,999Details for £190,000 to £194,999 | 1 | 0 |
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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) (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)
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.