An 8% rise in councillors' basic allowance, council tax help kept at 87% and a school parking pilot naming Wymondham: what South Norfolk decides on 19 October.
South Norfolk councillors will decide on Monday 19 October whether to give themselves a £500 rise in their basic allowance. The same meeting is asked to keep council tax help for low-income households at its current level for 2027/28.
Three motions also go to the vote. One asks officers to look at a six-month crackdown on dangerous parking outside primary schools, starting with areas including Wymondham.
Full Council meets at 7pm. The papers are on the council’s agenda page for the meeting.
Councillors’ allowances: £500 more each
Every South Norfolk councillor is paid a basic allowance of £6,180.44 a year. That figure already includes a 3.3% rise in line with the staff pay award, backdated to April and paid in November.
An Independent Remuneration Panel has now recommended a further £500 a year for each of the 46 councillors. It puts the increase at about 8%. Its report says South Norfolk’s basic allowance is the lowest in Norfolk. The last full review was in 2021.
The panel’s main recommendations are:
- basic allowance up £500, to £6,680.44 a year
- the extra allowances for senior roles rise with it, because most are set as a multiple of the basic allowance
- the extra allowances for the four chairs of the Cabinet policy committees and the chair of the Electoral Arrangements Committee are scrapped
- both leaders of the main opposition get the full allowance where two groups are level, instead of sharing one
- carers’ allowance pays actual costs, capped at the National Living Wage for over-21s (£12.71 an hour)
- the changes take effect on 1 November 2026
The Leader of the Council’s allowance would rise from £16,069.34 to £17,369.14, according to the costings appendix.
The whole scheme would cost £420,633.87 a year, up from £402,132.17. That is £18,501.70 more each year, or £7,709.04 for the rest of this year if it starts on 1 November.
Councillors do not have to accept any of it. The covering report asks them to decide which recommendations, if any, to adopt. If they reject them, the current rates continue.
The panel also recorded what councillors told it. Some said a rise above inflation, or above what staff received, “would not be palatable”. Others said the pay could put off younger candidates.
Council tax help stays at up to 87%
Council Tax Reduction cuts the bill for households on low incomes. For working-age residents, South Norfolk’s scheme covers up to 87% of the eligible charge. The amount depends on income, savings, household and any disability. Pensioners are covered by national rules.
Cabinet meets at 9am the same day and is recommended to keep the scheme unchanged for 2027/28. Full Council then makes the final decision that evening.
The council’s annual review found the scheme was working. It looked at raising the cap to 100% but rejected that on cost. It also warned that cutting help would mostly create debt, because many claimants could not pay the extra.
The report gives these figures for this year:
| 2026/27 | |
|---|---|
| Working-age households helped | 3,908 |
| Of those, in work | 702 (18%) |
| Of those not working, households with a disabled member | 2,312 (72.1%) |
| Working-age claimants on Universal Credit | 3,848 |
| Total cost of the scheme | £8.59m |
| South Norfolk Council’s share (about 7%) | £601,300 |
The cost rose from £7.73m in 2024/25 to £8.59m this year. The report says that is “primarily due to rising Council Tax charges rather than growth in caseload”.
The three motions
All three were put down by Cllr Gary Blundell. Each asks officers to investigate and report back. None commits the council to spend money.
School parking. The motion asks officers to look at a six-month pilot. Civil enforcement officers would rotate around selected primary and junior schools at afternoon collection time. It names Costessey, Wymondham, Diss and Hethersett as the first areas to look at. It says some parents arrive “from around 2pm” to park near the gate, and that the target is the few who repeatedly park on double yellow lines.
Council tax relief for terminal illness. The motion asks officers to cost a discretionary discount for households where someone has been certified terminally ill, for example with an SR1 form. It notes some councils give up to 100% relief. The report back would set out how many households might qualify and what it would cost.
South Norfolk on Show. The motion asks officers to look at bringing back the district show, possibly with a large reuse and recycling event as part of the day.
The same meeting also takes the £1.25m plan to rebuild Diss bus terminal.
What it means for you
- If you are on a low income, the help with your council tax should be the same next year. You can check whether you qualify and apply on the council’s website, or call the South Norfolk benefits team on 01508 533633. Apply early: the council says the date you apply affects how much discount it can give.
- If you live near a Wymondham school and parking at pick-up is a problem, the motion is only a request for a study. Any pilot would come back to councillors first. Your district councillor is the person to tell.
- To see the meeting, the agenda page lists the papers. You can see what Band your home is in, and this year’s charges, on our Wymondham council tax bands page.
We will report the decisions after the meeting.
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