Agenda item

Members' Allowance Scheme

Minutes:

Mr David Lomas, Chairman of the Independent Remuneration Panel outlined the process that had been undertaken to produce the recommendations set out in the report.  Consultation had taken place with Councillors and thanks were expressed to those that had responded.  The report had given consideration to the weekly impact of the changes.  It was considered that the changes to the Special Responsibility Allowances were reasonable and had been rounded to the nearest £10.  Comparison had been made with other authorities and the results set out in the appendix.

 

Mr Lomas noted that last year there had been criticism regarding the SRA for the Leader of the Opposition, this was now recommended to have parity with the Deputy Leader of the Council.

 

The recommendations were as set out below:

 

A

Basic Allowance  

£5,400

£5,280

B

SRA- LeaderofCouncil

£12,000

£11,747

C

SRA– DeputyLeader/s (in the event of two or more being nominated, the payment to be shared)

£4,350

£4,237

D

SRA-Chair of Council  

£3,840

£3,737

E

SRA – Vice-Chair of Council

£1,320

£1,282

F

Civic Allowance for the Chairman of Council

£1,550

£1,500

G

Civic Allowance for the Vice-Chairman of Council

£420

£400

H

SRA– CommitteeChairs

£3,000

£2,919

I

SRA – Committee Vice-Chairs

£1,420

£1,382

J

SRA– ChairofTaxi& GeneralSub-Committee

£1,320

£1,282

K

SRA – Leader of the Opposition (in the event of the Council being a ‘hung[1]’ Council, the Leaders of the two largest groups be paid the same special responsibility allowance as for the Leader of the Opposition)

£4,350

£3,737

L

SRA– DeputyLeader oftheOpposition

£790

£769

M

SRA– MinorityGroup Leaders (per group member, and including the Group Leader)

£90

£85

N

Co-optees’ Allowance – A payment of £60.00 for the first four hours of attendance at a meeting/event and a second payment for attendance in excess of four hours. The first four hours would commence from the start time of the meeting (To be paid when not chairing a meeting).

£60

£50

 

No change to the allowances for Dependent Carers or travel allowances.  The Panel noted and commented that travel allowances are currently in line with the tax efficient rate authorised by the Inland Revenue.

Subsistence –  No change  (Receipts must be provided for subsistence claimed and attached to the claim form).

a.    Absence of more than four hours but no more than eight hours – only the cost of one meal can be reimbursed up to a maximum of £15.

b.    Absence of more than eight hours but no more than 12 hours – only the cost of two meals can be reimbursed up to a maximum of £25.

c.    Absence of more than 12 hours but no more than 16 hours – only the cost of three meals can be reimbursed up to a maximum of £33.

d.    Absence of more than 16 hours but not including an overnight stay – only the cost of four meals can be reimbursed up to a maximum of £40.

e.    Overnight – No Change – £83

f.     Overnight (London or LGA) – No Change – £208

 

Members of the Labour Group were not able to support the recommendations as it was felt that allowances were already adequate and a 1% increase would have been acceptable, however the proposed increases were much higher.

 

Note The Chairman congratulated Mr Lomas on his BEM award in the Queen’s birthday honours.

 

The recommendations were moved, seconded and voted upon and it was therefore RESOLVED that the new rates as shown above, with regard to Members’ Allowances for the Civic Year  2017 – 2018 be approved by:-

·         Agreeing to the increase of £120 p/a for the Basic Allowance;

·         Agreeing the proposed changes to SRAs; and

·         Agreeing to restore parity between the Deputy Leader and the Leader of the Opposition.

 


 

Supporting documents: