This page contains information about financial and other facts concerning local and central government for the Helensburgh and Lomond area. The local authority for this area is Argyll and Bute Council; for the Scottish Parliament it is part of the Dumbarton constituency and the West Scotland region for ‘list’ MSPs; it is in the Argyll and Bute constituency for the UK Parliament.
Argyll and Bute Council
Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act all council meetings are open to the public, unless specific confidential items need to be discussed in private. Argyll and Bute’s agendas and minutes are available here.
Argyll and Bute Council makes all of its purchasing above £500 available online via Spotlight on Spend, where it can be searched via categories – in the past it has been used to access fees paid to consultants involved in the CHORD project. The council has elected not to make the information available for download, but it can be accessed via this link.
To access salaries, allowances and expenses paid to Argyll and Bute councillors, click on the PDF links below:
Argyll and Bute councillor payments 2022-23
Argyll and Bute councillor payments 2021-22
Argyll and Bute councillor expenses 2020-21
Argyll and Bute councillor payments 2019-20 ;
Argyll and Bute councillors payments 2018-19
Argyll and Bute councillor payments 2017-18; Argyll and Bute councillor payments 16-17; Argyll and Bute councillor payments 15-16; Argyll and Bute councillor payments 14-15; Argyll and Bute councillor payments 13-14; Argyll and Bute councillor payments 12-13;
Details of all 36 of Argyll and Bute’s councillors are available here.
Scottish Parliament – MSPs
Jackie Baillie was Dumbarton constituency MSP from when the parliament first met in 1999 until it was dissolved last month prior to the May election; until then there were also seven list or regional MSPs for the West of Scotland. Details of MSPs’ allowances are available on the Scottish Parliament’s website; annual summaries and links to details are below for MSPs who served until the May 2016 elections, a PDF of each current MSP’s registerable interests is here: Register of Interests for the Parliamentary Year 14 May 2022 to 12 May 2023
Jackie Baillie (Labour): 2022-23: £5,268.39. 2021:22: £35,579.13. 2020-21: £31,782.01. 2019-20: £35,508.67; 2018-19. £33,543.92; 2017-18: £31,196.22 2016-17, £20,836.86; 2015-16, £20,949.33; 2014-15, £17,884.00; 2013-14, £28,255.56; 2012-13, £26,832.27.
List MSPs: Neil Bibby (Labour): 2022-23: £5,245.52. 2021-22: £5,245.52. 2020-21: £27,220.48. 2019-20, £28,866.87; 2018-19, £31,167.05; 2017-28, £25,303.38; 2016-17, £10,467.95; 2015-16, £12,856.12; 2014-15, £16,367.19; 2013-14, £16,860.44; 2012-13, £18,199.30.
Katy Clark (Labour): 2022-23: £3,460.68. 20 2021-22: £23,046.24.
Russell Findlay (Conservative): 2022-23: £4,949.96. 2021-22: £17,056.98
Maurice Golden (Conservative): 2022-23: £9,000.47. 2021-22: £37,044.53. 2020-21: £18,679.03. 2019-20, £21,539.01; 2018-19, £28,437.06; 2017-18, £20,352.03; 2016-17, £10,275.05.
Pam Gosal (Conservative): 2022-23: £4,747.44. 2021-22: £27,943.40.
Jamie Greene (Conservative): 2022-23: £7,877.02. 2021-22: £44,339.20. 2020-21: £34,291.58. 2019-20, £35,361.15; 2018-19, £35,530.61; 2017-18; £36,334.09; 2016-17, £15,586.53.
Ross Greer (Green): 2022-23: £5,631.16. 2021-22: £31,859.16. 2020-21: £24,291.32. 2019-20, £25,727.45; 2018-19, £30,374.22; 2017-18, £26,049.00; 2016-17, £2,855.61.
Paul O’Kane (Labour): 2022-23: £4,236.33. 2021-22: £26,689.25.
The following were list MSPs for the West of Scotland until the 2021 election:
Maurice Corry (Conservative): 2021-22: £6,643.70. 2020-21: £38,159.40. 2019-20: £40,727.55; 2018-19, £34,545.77; 2017-18, £29,716.87; 2016-17, £9,876.76.
Mary Fee (Labour): 2021-22: £4,093.73. 2020-21: £18,571.93. 2019-20, £17,455.70; 2018-19, £21,444.56; 2017-18, £21,725.11; 2016-17, £11,864.74; 2015-16, £12,574.84; 2014-15, £12,920.02;; 2013-14, £20,548.64, 2012-13, £23,720.35.
Ken MacIntosh (presiding officer, no affiliation): 2021-22: £1,456.81. 2020-21: £18,679.56. 2019-20, £19,393.93; 2018-19, £16,611.94; 2017-18, £18,155.29; 2016-17, £13,500.25
The following were list MSPs for the West of Scotland until the 2016 election:
Jackson Carlaw (Conservative): 2015-16, £14,386.69; 2014-15 £12,891.24; 2013-14, £20,730.48; 2012-13, £21,604.48.
Annabel Goldie (Conservative): 2015-16, £7,374.30; 2014-15, £5,139.31; 2013-14, £10,334.04; 2012-13, £13,004.57.
Stewart Maxwell (SNP): 2015-16, £22,386.90; 2014-15, £20,858.96; 2013-14, £25,656.65; 2012-13, £25,510.11.
Margaret McDougall (Labour): 2015-16, £15,805.55; 2014-15, £13,780.96; 2013-14, £24,582.11; 2012-13, £25,359.13.
Stuart McMillan (SNP): 2015-16, £23,641.08; 2014-15, £21,244.73, 2013-14, £28,604.95; 2012-13, £26,428.63.
UK Parliament – MPs
Information about UK MPs’ expenses is available via the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. Liberal Democrat Alan Reid was Argyll and Bute’s MP until 2015’s general election, when he was defeated by the SNP’s Brendan O’Hara.
Mr O’Hara retained his seat in the 2017 and 2019 General Elections
Mr O’Hara’s expenses in 2022-23 totalled £83,136.85 (Accommodation – £18,045.00; MP travel – £23,457.81; Office costs – £21,360.51; Staff travel – £8,726.20; Staffing: £11,547.33).
In 2021-22 the total was £248,328.01 (Accommodation – £21,476.55; MP travel – £16,802.69; dependant travel – £743.09; Office costs – £18,815.09; Staff travel – £4,541.40; Staffing: £185,949.19).
In 2020-21 the total was £199,585.34 (Accommodation – £19,074.58 MP travel – £4,504.39; Office costs – £20,691.10; Staff travel – £307.65; Staffing: £155,007.62)
Mr O’Hara’s expenses in 2019-20 totalled £217,781.72 (office costs £20,807.83, staffing £148,597.70, accommodation £26,152.37, travel £22,214.02, dependant travel £9.80).
In 2018-19 the total was £247,127.38 (office costs £21,930.89, staffing £152,925.61, accommodation £28,458.34, travel £43,812.54).
In 2017-18 the total was £220,081.13 (office costs £19,722.21, Accommodation £28,214.51, staffing £148,102.31, travel £24,042.10).
In 2016-17 the total was £93,984.72 (office costs £26,896.17, accommodation £27,018.31, Start-up £819.77 and travel £40,250.47).
In 2015-16 the total was £80,207.59 (office £12,823.31, accommodation £22,735.89, staffing £2,805.00, travel £38,443.04)
Mr Reid’s expenses are below.
2014-15 total £48,554.74 (accommodation £8,100, office costs £19,289.17, staffing £8,388.87, travel £12.776.70)
2013-14 total £177,051.29 (accommodation £13,531.45, office £24,709.04, staffing £113,028.21, travel £25,782.59)
2012-13 total £172,609.36 (accommodation £13,299.40, office £23,947.62, staffing £7,437.62, travel £24,970.93)
The current register of interests for all MPs is here: Register of Interests for the Parliamentary Year 14 May 2022 to 12 May 2023
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