Anger over Reform UK's plans to reintroduce paid allowance roles on Sunderland City Council
Reform UK representatives in Sunderland have defended their decision to reinstate deputy cabinet member positions - despite concerns it will lead to more taxpayer cash being given to councillors.
The new administration running Sunderland City Council has confirmed deputy cabinet portfolio holders will be reintroduced – claiming it will “strengthen leadership, improve service delivery and provide better value for money to residents”.
Reform UK bosses on the council added the move will mean each of the seven cabinet members on the local authority “will have additional support in key areas” – enabling the administration “to be more reactive, responsive and effective”.
They noted the person undertaking each deputy cabinet role has been “carefully selected” and they will bring “relevant real-world experience, practical knowledge and a skill set that matches the area they support”.
However, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group in Sunderland, Councillor Paul Edgeworth, has raised concerns the move will see some Reform councillors in the deputy roles receive a special responsibility allowance (SRA) – meaning more taxpayer cash will be paid to councillors.
He said: “Local people will be shocked that despite promises of getting wasteful spending under control, the first thing a Reform UK council has done is to act like continuity Labour by increasing the amount of taxpayer cash they are giving themselves.”
In accordance with the council’s members’ allowances scheme, certain positions held by councillors are entitled to an SRA based upon the associated roles and responsibilities.
An Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) undertakes reviews of the scheme and makes recommendations to the council.
The allowances scheme for 2026-2027 was approved in January 2026 and includes no provision for SRAs to be paid to deputy cabinet members.
Council officers noted any proposal to amend the scheme would require prior consideration by the IRP.
This means the issue of restoring SRAs will be “considered in due course”.
A spokesperson for the council’s Reform UK group has confirmed the proposals “will incur a small additional cost which will be more than met through savings found elsewhere in the council and this will be significantly lower than under previous administrations”.
They added only three of the seven current deputy portfolio holders would be entitled to SRAs as the rest also take on other council roles where an allowance is already in place.
The Reform spokesperson added: “This is a limited, proportionate change focused on delivering value for money.
“Over the life of the first Reform administration, we expect the value delivered by these roles to outweigh the cost many times over.
“This is not about creating titles for the sake of it. It is about adding capacity where it is needed, making better use of the talent available in the group.”
The previous council leader, Labour’s Michael Mordey, announced deputy cabinet members would not form part of his “slimmed-down” cabinet when he took charge in May 2024, noting the move would save the local authority money.
According to previous council documents, the SRA for a deputy cabinet member before then was £12,556 – however Reform UK bosses stress the new figure would be “significantly lower”.
Cllr Edgeworth said the Liberal Democrats are “pushing to slash councillors’ expenses, allowances, perks and freebies” with a fully costed plan “to save £194,562 each and every year”.