ASSEMBLY Members are set for a £10,000 pay rise after the next elections in 2016.

The independent Remuneration Board of the National Assembly published its recommendations today on how much the Welsh politicians are worth.

If accepted, the taxpayer will spend around £800,000 more on wages for Senedd politicians in real terms than this year.

Sandy Blair, chairman of the board, justified the move by saying further devolved powers meant a new package for a new parliament was needed.

A bigger pay packet would give more parity with members of the Scottish Parliament, he added.

There was widespread criticism when the plan was first announced in November last year, with Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay saying: "There’s no way I’m going to go down to my local pub and argue for a £10,000 pay increase. That would be outrageous". He added today: "At 18 per cent (increase) it's impossible to justify to the public at a time when politicians are held in pretty low esteem and some public sector workers are getting just 1 per cent.

"My submission to the consultation included an alternative solution with a far more sensible salary increase paid for by scrapping the Assembly's additional office holder salaries. Critically this could have been cost-neutral and more acceptable to the taxpayer.

"I'm disappointed the panel rejected this. At the end of the day it's politicians like me who have to look hardworking constituents in the eye when most of them are completely baffled by all this and just want us to get on with the job we were elected to do."

Mr Blair said the move was less of a pay rise and more of a promotion, reflecting the fact that after the 2016 election, the National Assembly will be very different, gaining law-making, tax-setting and borrowing powers like those of the UK and Scottish parliaments.

He said: “It is the Remuneration Board’s duty to ensure that a package of financial support is in place which encourages the best people to put their names forward for the role of Assembly Member and that support is available so that elected Members to deliver their responsibilities effectively for the people of Wales.”

AMs will be paid a basic salary of £64,000 from May 2016, compared to £54,000 now.

But savings will be made from changes to the pension scheme and reductions to some of the additional salaries paid to Ministers and other office holders, the board said.

A consultation on the salary changes garnered 65 responses.

Mr Blair said: “The consultation lead us to consider again whether the total remuneration – salary and pension benefit – was too high and whether now was the right time to make the changes. After much debate and re-examination, we concluded that the total remuneration we propose – pay and pension – is broadly right for the level of responsibilities that will be undertaken by the Fifth Assembly. We know that there is never a good time to propose increasing politicians’ salaries but the Board firmly believes that this is the right thing to do to support the future of Welsh democracy,” Mr Blair added.

“It is a mistake to see this as a pay rise. The Board’s research clearly demonstrates that the job of being an Assembly Member has changed significantly since 2010, when the salary was last reviewed.”

AMS would still earn significantly less than MPs, he said.

The consultation also features a new proposal to reform the way party groups are funded in the National Assembly for Wales making sure small parties are supported, he said.

The package for the Fifth Assembly is now out for consultation, and the Board expects to finalise its proposals by the end of May 2015.