EXPENSES claims at Wokingham Borough Council have rocketed by 130% over the last year.

The leader of the cash-strapped authority, Cllr David Lee, says councillors work for "well below the minimum wage" despite out-of-pocket claims soaring from �6,200 in 2011-12 to �14,300 in 2012-13. Overall Wokingham's 54 councillors claimed allowances of �573,000 for the year 2012-13 up from �564,000 the year before - a rise of just over 2% - meaning they cost each household in the borough �10.

The highest claim was from Cllr Lee, who was reimbursed �29,500, followed by education boss Charlotte Haitham-Taylor, whose �2,200 child care costs contributed to a bill of more than �20,000.

But Cllr Lee insisted most councillors work long evenings and do not claim mileage for trips to and from meetings at Shute End.

He said: "I get paid �29,000 a year - I hear that every week. As far as I'm concerned the money paid to councillors doesn't compensate us for the time and effort that we put in.

"There will always be councillors who can be challenged on the amount of time and work they put in but I feel no reason to justify anything that I get because if you work it out on an hourly rate, it's well below the minimum wage."

The rise comes despite repeated claims from the council that it is the worst funded authority in the country, receiving �125 per person from central Government. Some councillors were more thrifty, with Pauline Jorgensen claiming just �22 in expenses all year and John Halsall voluntarily refunding the cost of his �2,500 in taxi journeys. In total councillors paid �6,100 back into the coffers through a staff car parking scheme and voluntary reductions, but the final bill was still high compared to neighbouring Reading, whose 58 councillors claimed �440,000 last year.

Cllr Lee said: "We're running an authority with a turnover of �300m so when people question expenses they need to consider whether they have given it serious thought and whether they would be prepared to do the work that my colleagues do for the money.

"I accept the �29,000 I get a year - I don't complain about it or want it to be increased. If somebody else wants to do it we have elections next May and people are more than welcome to stand.

"We should do what's right and not simply because some other authority does it and the level of allowances and expenses that we pay is the right level. If you compare the figures to a lot of other authorities we're a lot lower. We're prepared to get on with things because actions speak louder than words."