Agenda item

To determine the Scheme of Allowances to take effect on 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2021 having regard to the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel.   

59.1           The report of the Head of Democratic Services, circulated at Pages No. 13-26, asked Members to determine a Scheme of Allowances to take effect on 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2021 having regard to the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel set out in its report at Appendix 1 Pages No. 17-18. 

59.2           The Mayor invited the Chair of the Panel to address the Council. The Chair thanked the Council for inviting the Panel to introduce its report. He explained that, over the years, the Panel (with one new member having joined in the autumn) had met with a large number of Councillors and over the forthcoming year intended to speak to as many new Members as possible. He felt this was extremely important in helping them to understand the hard work and level of commitment shown by Members to both their local communities and the Council.  The Panel had looked at the allowances nationally, across the County and at local level. In recent years, the Panel had increased Special Responsibility Allowances as well as introducing a new allowance for Support Members. Previously, the Panel had indicated that it could not suggest an increase in the Basic Allowance given that it was already consistently one of the highest in the country; however, the Panel understood that this was effectively a cut in real terms and felt that this continued approach was no longer sustainable. It was for that reason that a £150 per year increase in the Basic Allowance was recommended.

59.3           The Leader of the Council thanked the Panel for its hard work and proposed the recommendations as set out in the Panel’s report at Appendix 1 to the report. The recommendation was seconded.

59.4           During the discussion which ensued, Members questioned whether there was a need for the Panel to review the allowances on an annual basis or whether it could be extended to two/three years and what the cost of the Panel meeting on an annual basis was. In response, the Panel Chair explained that the allowances did not have to be reviewed on an annual basis, indeed the Panel could recommend a scheme for a four-year period; however, the Panel felt it was able to offer better advice on an annual basis rather than over the longer term which would be based on a certain amount of speculation. In terms of costs, the Panel received a small retainer, paid on an annual basis, to ensure it was available for work on allowances at any time, this meant the costs would be the same no matter how frequently the scheme was reviewed. In terms of the increase recommended, the Chair of the Panel indicated that, given the Council was in the top quartile of Basic Allowances paid in the country, it would be easy to recommend a freeze in allowances but actually, as the allowances had been the same for the last five years, in real terms Councillors had seen a cut – the recommended increase was very small given the inflation over that five-year period.

59.5           A Member thanked the Panel for its report but expressed the view that, given the Council’s uncertain financial future, along with the fact that the Council’s Basic Allowance was already one of the highest in the Country, a raise of £150 per year would not amount to much extra in a Councillor’s income but would make a difference to the Council’s budget. If anything, he felt the roles of Leader and Deputy Leader should see an increase rather than all Members. Another Member indicated that he would not support an increase in any of the Council’s allowances – he expressed the view that a 2% increase was not the correct thing to do in the current financial uncertainty which was a view shared by a number of other Members.

59.6           Upon being put to the vote, it was

RESOLVED          That the Scheme of Member Allowances, with an increase in the Basic Allowance for all Members of £150 per year, as recommended at Appendix 1 to the report, be ADOPTED with effect from 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2021.