WILTSHIRE Council leader Jane Scott has decided not to accept her controversial rise in allowances, a Freedom of Information request by the Adver’s sister paper, the Gazette And Herald has revealed.

Coun Scott would have been eligible to receive total allowances of more than £52,227, up from £37,335 –- an increase of nearly 40 per cent – following the council vote to increase allowances in November.

But the FOI request confirmed Coun Scott and Coun Stewart Dobson, from Marlborough, had refused the increase and Coun Laura Mayes, from Devizes, had refused half of her increase.

Coun Scott would have been entitled to £12,289 for being a councillor, £30,772 for being council leader and £9,216 as chairman of the health and wellbeing board.

The increase would have been backdated to last year’s May elections.

Before the vote Coun Scott received £25,168 for being council leader and £12,167 for being a councillor.

The basic councillor’s allowance went up by one per cent – a rise of £122 while those councillors who are members of the cabinet saw allowances increase by at least 22 per cent from £15,101 to £18,433 a year.