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Plymouth: 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, Plymouth reports total remuneration of £245,269 for its chief executive (head of paid service) (including employer pension contributions), 10 employees paid £100,000 or more, and £1,226,000 paid in members' allowances.
Key figures
- £245,269Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service), 2025-26
- 10Staff paid £100,000 or more, 2025-26
- £1,226,000Members' allowances, 2025-26
- £13,700Basic allowance per councillor, 2025-26
Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service)
Total remuneration of £245,269 in 2025-26, including employer pension contributions. That is down 8.4% on 2024-25 (£267,842). The median among the 4 other unitary councils in England collected so far is £242,676.
From the accounts: Tracey Lee - Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service). 2025/26: salaries, fees and allowances 206,108; compensation 0; pension 39,161; total 245,269. 2024/25: 231,133; 0; 36,709; 267,842. Both years 'Includes election duty payments as the Returning Officer' (2025/26 covered a referendum; 2024/25 one local, one PCC and one national election). Total excluding pension is not printed.
PDF page 90, Note 26.1
Employees paid £50,000 or more
420 employees in 2025-26, up 39.5% on 2024-25 (301). 10 were paid £100,000 or more, 3.7 per 100,000 residents. The median among the 7 other unitary councils in England collected so far is 4.9 per 100,000.
| Band | 2025-26 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
£50,000 to £54,999Details for £50,000 to £54,999 | 160 | 109 |
| ||
£55,000 to £59,999Details for £55,000 to £59,999 | 116 | 88 |
| ||
£60,000 to £64,999Details for £60,000 to £64,999 | 42 | 40 |
| ||
£65,000 to £69,999Details for £65,000 to £69,999 | 39 | 24 |
| ||
£70,000 to £74,999Details for £70,000 to £74,999 | 19 | 10 |
| ||
£75,000 to £79,999Details for £75,000 to £79,999 | 9 | 7 |
| ||
£80,000 to £84,999Details for £80,000 to £84,999 | 7 | 8 |
| ||
£85,000 to £89,999Details for £85,000 to £89,999 | 12 | 5 |
| ||
£90,000 to £94,999Details for £90,000 to £94,999 | 5 | 4 |
| ||
£95,000 to £99,999Details for £95,000 to £99,999 | 1 | 1 |
| ||
£100,000 to £104,999Details for £100,000 to £104,999 | 2 | 2 |
| ||
£105,000 to £109,999Details for £105,000 to £109,999 | 2 | 1 |
| ||
£110,000 to £114,999Details for £110,000 to £114,999 | 2 | 1 |
| ||
£115,000 to £119,999Details for £115,000 to £119,999 | 3 | 0 |
| ||
£120,000 to £124,999Details for £120,000 to £124,999 | 1 | 0 |
| ||
£125,000 to £129,999Details for £125,000 to £129,999 | 0 | 1 |
| ||
Includes schools staff. Senior officers listed separately are not in these counts. From the accounts: Note 26.2: 'the number of employees whose remuneration for the year (excluding employer pension contributions) was £50,000 or more. The following numbers do not include the senior management as disclosed in note 26.1.' Schools and Non-schools columns, no combined column; totals Schools 132 / Non-schools 288 (2025/26) and 100 / 201 (2024/25).
Source: Plymouth, Statement of Accounts 2025/26 - Unaudited (draft), PDF page 92, Note 26.2. Read by hand; checked 2026-09-24.
Councillors' allowances
£1,226,000 in 2025-26, up 3.1% on 2024-25 (£1,189,000), or £4.52 per resident. The median among the 7 other unitary councils in England collected so far is £3.64 per resident.
| Paid as | Total |
|---|---|
| Basic allowances | £780,902 |
| Special responsibility allowances | £419,879 |
| Expenses | £638 |
| All | £1,226,007 |
The basic allowance for each councillor is £13,700 a year (2025-26).
From the accounts: "Allowances paid to Members of the Council in 2025/26 totalled £1.226m (2024/25: £1.189m). These figures include Members' allowances and expenses." (PDF page 89, Note 25)
Published allowances: Members allowances 2025/26 (web page table).
What this data does and doesn't show
- Every figure is as Plymouth 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 unitary councils in England read so far; no national figure is published for England.
- Published 2025/26 table (57 councillors) has no totals row; figures are our column sums: Basic 780,902.28; Lord Mayor's Allowance 24,588.46; Special Responsibility 419,878.75; Travel/Subsistence Reimbursed 637.82; 'total' is our sum of all four columns and matches the accounts figure (£1.226m). A second small table on the same page shows Special Responsibility adjustments summing to -8,724.19 (not included). Basic rate from the Councillor Allowances Scheme appendix: 'Summary of basic allowance and special responsibility allowances from 01 April 2025 ... Basic Allowance 13,700'.