INCREASES will be made to wages paid to two Worcester City Council committee chairmen - against the wishes of an independent body.

A £1,870 additional allowance will be paid to Coun Mike Layland, head of the audit committee, and performance and development committee chairman Coun Ian Imray.

The figure represents a rise of £450 each from a recommendation issued by the county's independent remuneration panel after the council had confirmed its payments in March.

Chairman of the scrutiny panel Coun Geoff Williams will receive £2,705 as the panel suggested.

Coun Roger Berry attacked the decision to ignore the independent advice, comparing it to the reductions for spending "in poorer areas" that had been made in the authority's April's budget.

"How can we say members' allowances are more important than all the other cutbacks?" Coun Berry asked at a full council meeting on Tuesday.

"As soon as a couple of members start getting upset we suddenly find £900 from nowhere. Is this financial management? Rubbish."

Coun Jo Hodges added: "How many of us are actually believing £900 is being found when in other instances it couldn't?"

But council leader Stephen Inman said it was wrong to cut the payments after they had been approved earlier in the year, along with all other allowances.

"If the panel could have done this work before our March council meeting, we would have made this decision then," he said afterwards.

The new wages were approved by 19 votes to 12. Councillors Williams, Layland and Imray left the room during the debate and vote.