Councillors will once again be able to join the Local Government Pension Scheme, communities secretary Steve Reed has announced, more than a decade after the entitlement was scrapped.

During a speech to councillors at Labour party conference yesterday Mr Reed said he was “outraged” when the Conservative government removed councillors’ access to pensions through the LGPS.

“I am proud as can be to announce today the reversal of that decision – you deserve it,” he told conference delegates at the Local Government Association’s rally fringe event in Liverpool.

One councillor in the audience called for him to “back date it”, to which Mr Reed replied, “there’s always something more”.

Mr Reed, who was a council leader before becoming an MP, said councillors do a “heroic job on the frontline”.

“I will always have your back,” he added.

After Mr Reed finished his speech Labour councillors applauded and gave him a standing ovation.

At a later reception, hosted by the Association of Labour Councillors, Mr Reed said that metro mayors would get their own pension scheme.

LGC’s Councillors for the 21st Century Campaign, which has received support from sector bodies including the Local Government Association and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives & Senior Managers, has been calling for councillors to have access to pensions among a host of measures to make it easier for people of all ages and backgrounds to serve as elected members.

Earlier this year former local government minister Jim McMahon hinted that he was sympathetic to calls from councillors to be able to join the LGPS and said he “if there’s a way to reconcile that, we will work on [restoring access to pensions]”. LGC understands Mr McMahon, who’s brief also included responsibility for pensions, had begun work on restoring access to the LGPS before he was sacked in the reshuffle earlier this month.

However, speaking at his party’s annual conference earlier this month, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice ruled out letting councillors join the LGPS.

He said: ““You can’t be on both [the committee and LGPS]… Where’s the governance in that for Christ’s sake, there is a conflict of interest as you can’t sit on both sides of the deal, it’s one side or the other.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the LGA said: “Councillors work very hard to represent their communities, sacrificing working hours and family time to carry out their role.

“Fair remuneration, including pension provision, is vital so that people from all walks of life feel able to stand for public office.

“Reinstating councillors’ access to the Local Government Pension Scheme is an essential step in recognising their dedication and service to their communities.”

LGC editor Sarah Calkin  welcomed the restoration of access to the LGPS for councillors.

She said: “It was a great injustice that councillors, who spend hours every week working for the benefit of their communities, would then find themselves penalised for that in retirement.

“It was also a big barrier to working age people being able to afford to serve as councillors, which is why our Councillors for the 21st Century campaign was calling for pensions to be reinstated.

“Hopefully this will go some way to making the role more feasible for more people, but there is still more the government can do, such as improving parental leave and looking at the allowances system.”