To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much all local authorities spent on allowances and expenses for counsellors in each year since 1997 for which figures are available. (319263)

We do not collect or report on allowances paid to local authority members, which are matters for each council to decide, having regard to the recommendations of their independent remuneration panel. Councils are accountable for their decisions on allowances to their electorate and are required to make publicly available each year a statement of the amount of allowances paid to each member.