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Surrey County Council: 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, Surrey County Council reports total remuneration of £285,897 for its chief executive (including employer pension contributions), a year in which the post changed hands, 67 employees paid £100,000 or more, and £1,803,000 paid in members' allowances.
Key figures
- £285,897Chief Executive, 2025-26
- 67Staff paid £100,000 or more, 2025-26
- £1,803,000Members' allowances, 2025-26
- £14,410Basic allowance per councillor, 2025-26
Chief Executive
Total remuneration of £285,897 in 2025-26, including employer pension contributions. Excluding pension contributions: £250,776. The post changed hands, or the figure covers part of a year, so it is not compared with the year before.
From the accounts: Chief Executive – Terence Herbert. 2025/26: salary & other payments 250,776; employer's pension 35,121; total 285,897. 2024/25 lines as printed: Terence Herbert (joined 19/08/24) 146,200 / 20,533 / 166,733; Interim Chief Executive – Leigh Whitehouse (left 23/06/24) 68,903 / - / 68,903; Interim Chief Executive – Michael Coughlin (interim CE 30/06/24 to 18/08/24) 25,357 / 3,187 / 28,544. totalExclPension is the printed 'Salary & Other Payments' column.
PDF pages 85-86 (printed pages 84-85), Note 27
Employees paid £50,000 or more
2,704 employees in 2025-26, up 24.8% on 2024-25 (2,167). 67 were paid £100,000 or more, 5.3 per 100,000 residents. The median among the 4 other county councils collected so far is 6.0 per 100,000.
| Band | 2025-26 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
£50,000 to £54,999Details for £50,000 to £54,999 | 845 | 631 |
| ||
£55,000 to £59,999Details for £55,000 to £59,999 | 716 | 528 |
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£60,000 to £64,999Details for £60,000 to £64,999 | 312 | 275 |
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£65,000 to £69,999Details for £65,000 to £69,999 | 231 | 186 |
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£70,000 to £74,999Details for £70,000 to £74,999 | 152 | 165 |
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£75,000 to £79,999Details for £75,000 to £79,999 | 183 | 143 |
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£80,000 to £84,999Details for £80,000 to £84,999 | 54 | 68 |
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£85,000 to £89,999Details for £85,000 to £89,999 | 65 | 70 |
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£90,000 to £94,999Details for £90,000 to £94,999 | 53 | 32 |
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£95,000 to £99,999Details for £95,000 to £99,999 | 26 | 26 |
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£100,000 to £104,999Details for £100,000 to £104,999 | 26 | 11 |
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£105,000 to £109,999Details for £105,000 to £109,999 | 7 | 5 |
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£110,000 to £114,999Details for £110,000 to £114,999 | 3 | 2 |
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£115,000 to £119,999Details for £115,000 to £119,999 | 3 | 7 |
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£120,000 to £124,999Details for £120,000 to £124,999 | 6 | 5 |
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£125,000 to £129,999Details for £125,000 to £129,999 | 6 | 0 |
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£130,000 to £134,999Details for £130,000 to £134,999 | 0 | 3 |
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£135,000 to £139,999Details for £135,000 to £139,999 | 2 | 2 |
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£140,000 to £144,999Details for £140,000 to £144,999 | 3 | 2 |
| ||
£145,000 to £149,999Details for £145,000 to £149,999 | 1 | 3 |
| ||
£150,000 to £154,999Details for £150,000 to £154,999 | 2 | 0 |
| ||
£155,000 to £159,999Details for £155,000 to £159,999 | 1 | 1 |
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£160,000 to £164,999Details for £160,000 to £164,999 | 2 | 0 |
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£165,000 to £169,999Details for £165,000 to £169,999 | 0 | 0 |
| ||
£170,000 to £174,999Details for £170,000 to £174,999 | 0 | 1 |
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£175,000 to £179,999Details for £175,000 to £179,999 | 0 | 1 |
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£180,000 to £184,999Details for £180,000 to £184,999 | 2 | 0 |
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£185,000 to £189,999Details for £185,000 to £189,999 | 1 | 0 |
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£190,000 to £224,999Details for £190,000 to £224,999 | 0 | 0 |
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£225,000 to £229,999Details for £225,000 to £229,999 | 1 | 0 |
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£230,000 to £249,999Details for £230,000 to £249,999 | 0 | 0 |
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£250,000 to £254,999Details for £250,000 to £254,999 | 1 | 0 |
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Includes schools staff. From the accounts: Note 28 'Officers Remuneration over £50k': Non School, Schools and Total numbers; counts are the Total column (2,704 in 2025/26; 2,167 in 2024/25). Dashes recorded as 0; runs of all-dash bands collapsed into one row here. The note does not state whether senior officers (Note 27) are included or excluded. The council notes the rise in the lowest two bands is mainly due to the 1 April 2025 pay award moving grade PS10 above the £50,000 threshold.
Source: Surrey County Council, Surrey County Council Statement of Accounts 2025/26 (draft, 30.06.26) (draft), PDF pages 86-87 (printed pages 85-86), Note 28. Read by hand; checked 2026-09-24.
Councillors' allowances
£1,803,000 in 2025-26, up 2.0% on 2024-25 (£1,768,000), or £1.44 per resident. The median among the 4 other county councils collected so far is £1.22 per resident.
| Paid as | Total |
|---|---|
| Basic allowances | £1,145,662 |
| Special responsibility allowances | £423,801 |
| Expenses | £15,387 |
| All | £1,842,028 |
The basic allowance for each councillor is £14,410 a year (2025-26).
From the accounts: "Member Allowances* 1,803 (2024/25 1,767); Member Expenses - (1); total 1,803 (1,768) £000. *Includes the employer's contributions for national insurance £184k (2024/25, £121k)." (PDF page 83 (printed page 82), Note 26)
Published allowances: Members' allowances and expenses 2025 to 2026 (web page table).
What this data does and doesn't show
- Every figure is as Surrey County Council 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 county councils read so far; no national figure is published for England.
- Published 2025-26 table (87 rows, web page; the URL slug says 2021-2022 but the page title is 'Members' allowances and expenses 2025 to 2026') has no totals row; figures are our column sums: Basic 1,145,662.19; SRA 423,800.81; Expenses 706.96; Mileage 13,170.64; Public Transport 1,509.03; Hybrid Working Allowance 3,000.00; Employer's National Insurance Contribution 254,178.04; Total 1,842,027.67. 'expenses' = Expenses + Mileage + Public Transport; 'total' is the table's Total column and includes employer's NI and the hybrid working allowance. Basic rate is the full-year Basic Allowance (14,410.00) shown in the table; a guide for 2026 to 2027 is also published at https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/530128/GuidetoMembersAllowancesandExpenses2026to2027.pdf (not read).