Councillors in Wales are being encouraged to claim for care costs to help them carry out their role, a Swansea Council committee was told.
The Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRPW) - the body which sets councillors' salaries - wants to ensure that councillors with caring responsibilities get the help they are entitled to so they don't lost out financially.
It has therefore recommended that councils only publish the total amount of care cost reimbursements by all councillors rather than publishing individual councillor care cost claims.
A report discussed by Swansea Council's democratic services committee said: "The IRPW believe that many are reluctant to claim all they are entitled to support them in their council role because of concerns about the adverse publicity this can attract."
No more than four of Swansea's 72 councillors have claimed childcare costs in the last couple of years - and none have sought reimbursement for the costs of caring for a partner or parent. The maximum limit is £403 per month.
Swansea's head of democratic services, Huw Evans, said he tried to encourage councillors to claim costs they're entitled to as it helped make the role more attractive to a wider and more diverse section of society.
"Councillors are very cautious about claiming," he said.
Councillor Louise Gibbard said she saw both sides of the coin but was happy to defend the childcare costs she has claimed from time to time to help her carry out her role.
She also said councillors might have been put off claiming caring costs for their partner if their partner didn't want this information to be disclosed.
Cllr Lesley Walton said it should be made very clear what care costs councillors could or could not claim.
She said: "We have to make sure every councillor has every right to claim an expense they're entitled to in order to facilitate the job they do."
Cllrs Wendy Lewis and Susan Jones they were or had been in a position of having to care for a loved one but had not sought any reimbursement costs.
"It would have been an extra burden to even consider it," said Cllr Jones.
Mr Evans said that, according to the IRPW, a carer could be a neighbour or friend as well as a professional.
He said he would approve any care reimbursement claim if it clearly allowed a councillor to continue carrying out their role as long it was council or ward business rather than political work.
Committee chairman Cllr Peter Black said he knew a number of councillors who had caring responsibilities but added that care cost reimbursement was not a "privilege" ordinary working people had.
The draft IRPW report also proposed raising councillors' basic salary by £350 to £14,218, to take effect from April 1, 2020.
It said councillors' salaries had almost remained static over the last eight years, falling far behind those of AMs and MPs in terms of any increase.
The proposed £350 rise would apply equally to all councillors with no further increases for the council leader - whose salary would be £54,450 - or cabinet members, for example.
If this £350 hike goes ahead it would add £25,200 to the council's budget.
The IRPW's final report will be published in February next year.
