MORE than £700,000 was picked up in allowances by Rochdale councillors last year - an increase of over £20,000.

They receive a basic £7,644, but many receive more, some running into thousands of pounds, for extra duties and responsibilities.

A total £707,050 of council tax money was paid out, a total which also includes travel expenses and allowances for time spent attending meetings. This compares to £686,401.98 for the previous 12 months.

Topping the table was Councillor Alan Taylor, leader of the council, who received £30,649. Last year he received £29,808.

His deputy Councillor Irene Davidson picked up £19,283.

Husband and wife Councillors Wera and William Hobhouse received a combined total of £32,471.36, including £16,883.48 for their special responsibilities for their roles on the council’s cabinet.

William Hobhouse received an additional £1,335 for his role as council representative on the Greater Manchester pension fund advisory committee.

Special responsibilities include being leader of the council or leader of the opposition parties, being chairman of a committee, or taking responsibility for dealing with particular areas of work.

A council spokesman said that although councillors are volunteers and are unpaid, they do receive payments set by an independent review body to help meet the costs of representing their communities.

The spokesman added that the basic allowance paid to Rochdale Council members was one of the lowest in Greater Manchester and it will remain the same in 2009/10 after councillors voted for a freeze.

Councillor Brenda Kerslake receive an additional £1,932 and Councillor Christine Akram £1,932 for their Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority duties.

Malcolm Allan of the independent remuneration panel for members allowances said: "Allowances are linked to the average earnings of residents in the borough and compared with those of other councillors in the region.

"Expenses and allowances are an emotive issue and openness on this matter is clearly important to local residents.

"We use a formula to calculate the allowances using the latest data.

"We regularly review the formula as well as the duties of councillors and the time they spend on council business."

You can see full details of councillors' expenses in Saturday's Observer