For nearly a year, AberdareOnline has been working to obtain a clear breakdown of the total remuneration received by Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) councillors, including payments for committee roles and appointments to outside bodies. Despite multiple Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, the council has been reluctant to disclose the full details. Even the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has failed to support our efforts for transparency.
Now, we need your help to ensure that public money is properly accounted for.
Why This Matters
Every councillor receives public funds in the form of salaries, allowances, and expenses—money that comes from your council tax and government funding. While there are legal obligations for councils to disclose these payments, RCT Council has not provided the level of detail that would allow the public to fully understand how much individual councillors receive in total remuneration.
We believe full transparency is crucial so that residents can see exactly how their elected representatives are compensated. Other councils across Wales make this information readily available. We believe RCT should do the same.
Take Action – Submit Your Fredom Of Information Request Today
By completing the form below, you will generate a Freedom of Information request directly from your email application, requesting details on councillor payments, allowances, and expenses. Your request will be sent to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s FOI department, and you will have the option to blind carbon copy (BCC) AberdareOnline so we can track responses and compile a full public report.
What You Need to Do:
- Enter your Name and Email.
- Select the Councillor you wish to request information about.
- Choose the years you want records for (you can select multiple years from the past five years).
- Tick the boxes for specific remuneration details you want to request, such as:
- Basic salary
- Special responsibility allowances
- Travel expenses
- Subsistence claims
- Payments for appointments to outside bodies
- Care-related expenses
- Click Submit – your email application will open with a pre-written FOI request that you can send directly to the council.
Councillor Expenses & Outside Bodies FOI Request Form
Use this form to request information about your councillor’s attendance at Outside Bodies and any related expenses claimed. Your request will be submitted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Note: By clicking “Submit”, an email will be drafted for you and opened in your default email client. On pressing send your request will be sent to:
The Freedom of Information Office, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.
What to Expect
- The council is legally required to respond to your FOI request within 20 working days.
- If they have not replied within 20 working days, refuse to disclose the information or provide incomplete data, you have the right to request an internal review and escalate the matter to the Information Commissioner.
- Occasionally, if the request is deemed difficult and time-consuming, the council may consider charging for the time taken to compile this information. If this happens, please ignore the request and inform us at AberdareOnline.
- If you receive a response, please forward it to AberdareOnline so we can compile a full report on councillor remuneration across RCT and publish it here on AberdareOnline.
Be Part of the Change
This is a collective effort to bring accountability to public spending in RCT. The more residents who submit requests, the harder it will be for the council to withhold information. By working together, we can ensure that public money is spent transparently and that every councillor’s true remuneration is made visible to the people who elect them.
Take action today. Submit your FOI request and help us expose the full picture.