Councillors have voted to increase their allowances by one per cent next month in a bid to ensure the level remains ‘reasonable’.

The 63p-a-week, £33-a-year, increase, was decided at an Epsom Council meeting on Tuesday.

But it has been slammed by opposition councillors as it comes at a time when residents, some of them suffering from benefit cuts, are having to pay 1.99 per cent increase in council tax.

The Residents’ Association said the basic allowance had not risen since 2008 because councillors were conscious of a council staff pay freeze and tough financial times for residents.

RA Councillor Neil Dallen, chairman of the strategy and resources committee, said they had felt a spike would have been ‘morally wrong’ given the pay freeze, which has now been broken.

Of the increase, Coun Dallen said: "It is just in line with the staff pay rise of one per cent this year."

He said there needed to be a small increase in allowances because otherwise some people may not be able to afford to stand as councillors.

He added: "We want to make sure everyone who wants to be a councillor can so we have got to keep rates at a reasonable level."

Council staff are getting a one per cent pay increase this year after a three-year freeze for all but the lowest pay employees.

Labour Councillor Sheila Carlson, who opposed the rise in allowances, said she intended to donate her share of the increase to a homeless charity.

Coun Carlson said: "I feel very strongly about this because I think it is wrong. We have got people who would have normally been getting council tax benefit relief and are not getting so much.

"I think it’s appalling that our residents are asked to pay extra money to fund pay increases for councillors."

Coun Carlson said the extra money would not make that much difference to councillors and dismissed the argument that a rise was needed to attract candidates as ‘absolute tosh’.

She said: "It’s not a full time job and should not be paid as a full time job. It is supposed to be an allowance that covers things like petrol and paper."

Epsom and Ewell Liberal Democrats, who opposed the increase, said the extra one per cent was unlikely to affect the willingness of candidates to stand for election.

The group said: "What was important was that some residents were struggling to pay their increased council tax.

"An example should be set by avoiding unnecessary spending."

The Residents' Association said the basic allowance of £3,338 a year in Epsom remains the second lowest in Surrey with only Runnymede councillors receiving less.