A 40 per cent pay cut for ten leading Birmingham councillors is set to be approved, six months after it was rejected by city bosses.

The chairmen of the ten council districts will see their annual allowance reduce from £10,000 to £6,000 as, according to an independent pay watchdog, their pay outstripped their level of responsibility.

The council's independent remuneration panel first made the recommendation in September but this was thrown out by council leader Sir Albert Bore.

He claimed they did not fully understand the role of a district chairman.

The ten councillors are officially called executive members for local services and have a seat at the council's cabinet table representing the interests of ten districts - Edgbaston, Erdington, Hall Green, Hodge Hill, Ladywood, Northfield, Perry Barr, Selly Oak, Sutton Coldfield and Yardley.

Seven are Labour councillors, two Tory and one Lib Dem.

In the wake of the damning Kerslake review of the city council and the deepening budget problems, much of the financial responsibility of the chairmen was removed.

Therefore, the recommended pay cut is likely to be approved at the next full council meeting on April 12.

But it is likely to be only a temporary measure as the council's constitution, in particular the role of district councillors, is undergoing a major overhaul in the wake of Kerslake and is likely to change quite considerably.

In a report to the council, the panel said: "When the changes are announced, the panel will meet again, fresh evidence will be taken and the allowance re-assessed."