A Shropshire councillor has denounced the expenses and allowances claimed by his county colleagues over the past year.

Green Party candidate Councillor Duncan Kerr, who represents Oswestry South, insisted too many of the county’s representatives were being awarded ‘special allowances’ in addition to their basic allowance.

Cllr Kerr said it was ‘immoral’ for such expenses to be awarded at a time of substantial council funding cuts, and that the current system was tantamount to a ‘gravy train’.

While councillors are fully entitled to claim allowances, Cllr Kerr argues they should show restraint in financially-straitened times.

In one of his first meetings at county level, Cllr Kerr proposed an immediate cut of 10 per cent in all allowances which, if implemented, he said would have released nearly £100,000-a-year for investment in front-line services.

Records of allowances and claimed expenses for the 2015/16 financial year were published last week.

Most of the 74 councillors claimed their full basic allowance of £11,514, though all payments were supplemented by a ‘special responsibility allowance’ and a ‘travelling and subsistence allowance’

Totals claimed by councillors ranged from £29,947.94 by deputy leader Steve Charmley – the highest total of all the councillors – to the £1,819.74 claimed by Cllr Kerr, though he was elected to the council only in February of this year.

Cllr Kerr has questioned the legality of more than half the councillors claiming in excess of their basic allowance and insists he plans to escalate the matter.

He said: “Nearly all councillors in the Conservative Party were given extra “special” allowances in addition to their basic allowance.

“This is not only immoral it may also, according to the government, be illegal. In an open letter to another Tory-controlled council, Surrey, the minister for local government made it clear that special allowances cease to be ‘special’ if a majority of councillors receive them.

“The figures show me as having the lowest level of allowances at £1,819. That’s not surprising as I was elected in February, but I have made it clear I will take only my basic allowances and not claim a penny in subsistence or travelling.

“So my claim for the current year is likely to be the lowest again. You can judge this for yourself when I publish the figure on April 1, next year.”

The Surrey County Council case referred to by Cllr Kerr saw councillors criticised by the government for approving allowance rises of up to 60 per cent.

In granting the increases, the authority was accused of showing ‘contempt’ for hard-working county residents.

Cllr Kerr says he now intends to write to Shropshire Council’s monitoring officer to ask why the authority has not restricted the number of councillors who receive special allowances.

Claire Porter, corporate head of legal and democratic services, said: “We shall be reviewing all member allowances prior to the new council next May.”