Top minister will earn £50,000

Guernsey's new chief minister stands to earn £50,000 a year.

An independent pay review board is proposing the current attendance allowance should be abolished and that each of the new States members will receive a basic allowance of £20,000 a year when he or she takes up their post in May.

This amount would cover attendance at meetings but there would also be additional allowances for committee or departmental membership.

But the biggest allowances will be paid to the chief minister who would receive an additional £35,000, with the deputy chief minister receiving an extra £10,000 a year.

Shake-up

Ministers, chairmen and their deputies would also receive special responsibility allowances.

The overall estimate of cost for the payments is £1.7m - some £750,000 more than at present.

The payments will follow a shake-up of government in the island from April next year, with the creation of a chief minister and 12 departments to replace the existing 50 committees.

The Advisory and Finance Committee is now seeking islanders' views.