Councillors should have their workload reduced to prevent appeals for more allowances and a shortage of candidates for election, it has been claimed.

South Oxfordshire District Council's scrutiny committee chairman, Ann Ducker, said paid council officers should take on more work.

She said councillors' allowances and expenses were not excessive at the moment, but feared members would demand more in the future in recognition of their workload.

Cllr Ducker, the leader of the council's Conservative group, said: "Do we really have the best system, or are we creating meetings so members have to be at these meetings and therefore want to be paid more?"

And she warned election candidates would be scarce next year unless councillors' workload was cut.

Under a new payment structure brought in last year, which abolished payments made on the basis of the number of meetings attended, district councillors receive a basic annual allowance of £1,390.

Claims for expenses, such as petrol can be added, along with special responsibility allowances for those in leading roles.

Council leader Jan Morgan tops the latest payments table with receipts totalling £9,169, largely due to of her £6,283 special responsibility allowance.

Amounts set by an independent panel are intended to provide fair remuneration for work carried out by councillors within the new cabinet system of local government.

But Cllr Ducker said: "Everybody agrees the days of voluntary members have gone, but councillors are still at the level of being community workers and doing something for the community. The question is how much do people want to pay for their councillors to attend meetings?

"We pay professional council officers good salaries to carry out the work, so why do we pay councillors? We have to cut councillors' workload.

"If people have a family and are holding down a job, can they take on this work?

"All the parties are going to struggle to find candidates next year if the workload continues to rise."