Councillors overpaid for THREE YEARS in administrative "c***-up"
Oldham councillors have been overpaid for three years due to an administrative error in payroll processing, with basic allowances increasing by 1.7-11% annually instead of the intended amounts. The council is conducting an audit to determine the exact overpayment, estimated at around £2,000 across 60 councillors. Concerns have been raised about systemic payroll issues, as the process has been rated 'weak' or 'inadequate' for seven of the last eight years. The issue was flagged privately but not publicly disclosed, leading to accusations of a cover-up. The council denies this, stating group leaders were informed promptly. The exact overpayment amount and recovery process remain unclear.
Oldham councillors received inflated allowances for three consecutive years after council payroll staff applied larger percentage rises than councillors had actually voted themselves, the authority has admitted.
The basic £12,212 allowance paid to all 60 members has climbed annually since 2022, but increases ranging from 1.7% to 11% were miscalculated, leaving each councillor roughly £33 better off each year - a total overpayment estimated at about £2,000 across the chamber. Senior figures discovered the slip during routine budget monitoring and quietly alerted party leaders by email on the eve of the full council meeting on 16 July, prompting the last-minute withdrawal of an agenda item that would have debated allowances for 2025-26.
Liberal Democrat councillor Sam Al-Hamdani warned that the mistake points to deeper failings in a payroll system judged “weak” or “inadequate” in seven of the past eight external audits. “The financial implication is pretty small, but the level of ineptitude it reveals is shocking,” he said. “We don’t actually know the scale of the problem - what if it’s affecting far more than councillors’ allowances?”
Conservative member Lewis Quigg accused the leadership of trying to “cover up” the error after it failed to surface in public session. “If someone has been overpaid, then they should pay it back,” he wrote on Facebook. “Residents who don’t pay their council tax on time are not afforded the luxury of subbing out the decision.” A council spokesperson denied any cover-up and said an audit is now under way to confirm the exact sum involved and decide how - or whether - to claw back money from current and former members.
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