Members of South Oxfordshire District Council are to be awarded 30 per cent pay rises.

The increase will be much higher for those with special responsibilities, such as chairmen of committees.

The increases have been put forward by a panel of four independent people and coincide with the changeover to Cabinet-style government.

The new pay structure will cost the district council about £128,000 over the coming year.

The independent panel consisted of Gill Bindoff, chairman of Lewknor Parish Council, Errol Facy, chairman of the Henley Partnership, David Hawkins, president of Didcot Chamber of Commerce, and David Slade, a senior partner in a firm of Wallingford solicitors.

They say councillors should get a flat rate of £1,600.

The leader of the council - and the Cabinet - should receive £8,000 more, and Cabinet members an extra £4,000 each. The chairman of the scrutiny committee, which will be the watchdog on Cabinet activities, should have an extra £4,000.

The panel has recommended another £1,600 for chairmen of the three separate committees looking at the policies under which the Cabinet will work, the chairman of full planning and the chairmen of the three planning sub-committees. The head of the licensing committee will get another £800.

David Buckle, chief executive of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: "Many councillors feel undervalued for the work they do. The independent panel has found the right balance in its recom- mendations."

Last year, if every councillor had claimed the full allowances due, the bill would have been £100,000 but turned out at £80,000.

Other councils in the county have also opted for large increases. Two weeks ago, the Oxford Mail revealed that members of West Oxfordshire District Council had agreed to increase their annual allowance bill from £80,000 last year to £312,000 in the coming year.