Councillors in Oxfordshire could be in line for big pay rises as part of a new style of local government.

An independent expert has recommended West Oxfordshire District Council members have a four-fold increase in the amount they get for attending committees and fulfilling other duties.

Other councils in the county are setting up independent panels to decide how much their members should be paid.

The 49 councillors in the Witney-based authority were due to vote today on a new system of allowances totalling £312,000 a year.

In the last financial year, the total bill for the same councillors was around £80,000.

Conservative councillor Steve Hayward said: "It could make us the highest-paid councillors in the country. In many cases we are not going to be doing any more work than we are at present."

A new structure of allowances has to be brought in under Government legislation as the council changes over to a new system of local democracy.

Traditional committees are being abolished and replaced by cabinet-style government, similar to that at Westminster, with a leader and spokesmen in specialist areas. The aim is to make local government more open and efficient.

West Oxfordshire District Council will be run by a new cabinet of six members. The leader could be paid a basic amount of nearly £18,000 a year.

A deputy leader could receive just over £15,000 and the four other cabinet members £14,400 each.

The combined bill for the cabinet is £76,000. All 49 councillors could receive a £3,700-a-year allowance. They could also claim child care up to £75 a week and travel and meal allowances.

The new scale of payments has been drawn up by a specialist consultant, Dr Declan Hall, of the Institute of Local Government Studies at Birmingham University.

He was brought in to give an expert's assessment of what local councillors are worth in west Oxfordshire and has based his findings on a notional wage for a male white-collar worker of £14.80 per hour.

He estimates the leader will be putting in around half a week's work, with councillors spending around 11 hours a week on their duties.

In his report, Dr Hall said there was a public service element to the job, and the new allowances "will not be enough for some councillors, while being too much for others".

West Oxfordshire is the first authority in the county to move over to cabinet-led local government. It has rejected alternative options, including an elected district mayor.

The council is made up of 26 Conservatives, 13 Liberal Democrats, eight Independents and two Labour councillors. The cabinet is almost certain to be made up of Conservatives, with group leader Barry Norton, the party's constituency agent, the new leader.