Last updated 21:59, Wednesday, 27 August 2008

PLANS to reduce the mileage payments of Scottish Borders council workers have been criticised by Hawick and Hermitage councillor Davie Paterson.

Councillor Paterson asked the council whether all councillors had claimed the 49.3 pence a mile entitlement since the election in May last year and this has been confirmed.

He believes that because the council is proposing to reduce the staff rate to 40 pence a mile when the cost of fuel has risen so much recently that this sends the wrong message to the public.

At the full council meeting at St Boswells last Thursday he said that when the idea of reducing the mileage allowance paid to staff was first mooted, petrol and diesel were certainly not the price they were at the moment, so at the very least he would be looking for a complete rethink on any plans to reduce the mileage allowance.

He said he could not believe that this administration was intending to inflict such a financial hardship on some of its hard-working staff, considering they were getting only a 2.5 per cent pay rise a year for the next three years.