Agenda item - Review of Members' Allowances

Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel (copy attached).

RESOLVED –

(1)         That the Committee recommends to Council:

(a)         That the Special Responsibility Allowances for the Leaders’ positions be payable as outlined in paragraphs 3.1 – 3.8 and Appendix 1 to this report.

(b)         That the Special Responsibility Allowances for the Deputy Chairs of Planning and Licensing Committees be payable as outlined in paragraphs 3.9 – 3.15 and Appendix 2 to this report.

(c)         That the Dependants’ Carers’ Allowance be payable as outlined in paragraphs 3.16 – 3.32 and Appendices 3 and 4 (childcare), and 3.33 – 3.37 and Appendix 5 (dependant care).

(d)         That the 26 Special Responsibility Allowances set out at Appendix 6 to this report be approved as the full list of duties which constitutes Schedule 1 to the new Members’ Allowances Scheme.

(2)    That it be noted the Basic Allowance of £11,463 has been retained and that all other allowances listed in the Scheme, other than those detailed in 2.1 – 2.4 above remain unchanged.

(3)    That the Members’ Allowances Scheme 2011 set out at Appendix 7 be recommended to full Council for approval on 20^th October 2011 with a proposal that the new scheme should take effect from 21^st October 2011.

25.1         The Committee considered a report of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) concerning the outcome of a review of the Members’ Allowances Scheme.

25.2         The Chair welcomed Simon Keane, Chair of the IRP, to the meeting and reported that he had met Mr Keane to learn about the Panel’s remit and work programme. He thanked the IRP for their thorough review and noted that a number of councillors had made written and verbal representations.

25.1         Mr Keane thanked Members for attending IRP meetings and making representations. He advised that the report was very detailed and that the Panel was comfortable with how the proposed scheme compared to other local authorities (LAs). He highlighted the main recommendations and reported that the scheme would result in savings of over £20,000. He thanked the Democratic Services Manager, Mrs Angela Woodall, for her support to the Panel over many years and wished her well as she prepared to leave the council.

25.2         Councillor Morgan thanked the IRP and officers and stated that the Labour Group comments on the report at full Council on 20 October. He noted the forthcoming review of Overview & Scrutiny arrangements and possibility of returning to a committee model of governance and advised that SRAs for deputy chairs of committees may need to be reconsidered in the future.

25.3         Mr Keane advised that reviews were conducted regularly, and that, while it was hoped that the current report would last some time, Members views were also welcomed. He explained that the guidelines provided that no more than 50% of Members should receive an SRA, and that to include the deputy chairs of other committees would exceed that level.

25.4         Councillor J Kitcat welcomed the report and thanked the IRP. In particular he noted that the changes would make it easier to claim for childcare costs and added that he hoped the issue of allowing councillors to claim childcare vouchers would be resolved by the Government.

25.5         Councillor A Norman thanked the IRP and Mrs Woodall and advised that the Conservative Group would reserve their comments for the debate at full Council.

25.6         In response to a question from Councillor Sykes regarding the level of SRAs for the deputy chairs of the Planning and Licensing Committees, Mr Keane explained that the Panel had recognised the heavy workload of the committees and were satisfied with the SRAs being higher than in other LAs.

25.7         Councillor Powell thanked the IRP for their ongoing work and highlighted the difficulties of juggling elected Member responsibilities with other commitments.

25.8         RESOLVED –

(1)         That the Committee recommends to Council:

(a)         That the Special Responsibility Allowances for the Leaders’ positions be payable as outlined in paragraphs 3.1 – 3.8 and Appendix 1 to this report.

(b)         That the Special Responsibility Allowances for the Deputy Chairs of Planning and Licensing Committees be payable as outlined in paragraphs 3.9 – 3.15 and Appendix 2 to this report.

(c)         That the Dependants’ Carers’ Allowance be payable as outlined in paragraphs 3.16 – 3.32 and Appendices 3 and 4 (childcare), and 3.33 – 3.37 and Appendix 5 (dependant care).

(d)         That the 26 Special Responsibility Allowances set out at Appendix 6 to this report be approved as the full list of duties which constitutes Schedule 1 to the new Members’ Allowances Scheme.

(2)    That it be noted the Basic Allowance of £11,463 has been retained and that all other allowances listed in the Scheme, other than those detailed in 2.1 – 2.4 above remain unchanged.

(3)    That the Members’ Allowances Scheme 2011 set out at Appendix 7 be recommended to full Council for approval on 20^th October 2011 with a proposal that the new scheme should take effect from 21^st October 2011.