Consideration was given to the report of the Chief Executive which set out the options for introducing a revised Members’ Allowance Scheme to take effect from 2023 when the current scheme expired.   

In accordance with the Local Authorities (Members Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003, before the Council made or amends its allowance scheme, the Council must have regard to the recommendations made in relation to it by an Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP).  It was noted that whilst there is not a legal requirement to review the allowances every four years, the Council would be unable to implement any indexed increases beyond May 2023.     

The report set out two options, either under a review in 2022 to enable a new scheme to be in place from May 2023 for the new Council or delay a review until 2023 to enable the new Council to have more of an input to the scheme to apply to their term of office.  The advantages and disadvantages of both options were set out in the report.  

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In order to take forward either option, officers would need to recruit and appoint a new IRP as the membership of the Council’s previous IRP have served on a number of occasions and it was considered appropriate and best practice to recruit new IRP members on a regular basis.  The IRP must consist of three or more people and its statutory role was to make recommendations to the Council as to the amount of basic allowance that should be payable to its elected Members; the roles and responsibilities for which a special responsibility allowance should be payable and as to the amount of each such allowance; whether the scheme should include an allowance in respect of the expenses of arranging for the care of children and dependants and, if so the amount of this allowance and the means by which it is determined and on other allowances (i.e. travel and subsistence allowance and allowances for attendance at certain meetings and conferences).

The recruitment and appointment of the IRP was an officer process and Member input was not appropriate in the interests of probity.  A recruitment pack would be compiled and the role advertised by way of the website and social media routes.  The recruitment process from advertisement to appointment would take between 6 and 8 weeks.  The costs associated with the last review were £100 per meeting plus expenses – in total just under £1,000.     

In conducting both the recruitment and review processes, the use of on-line face-to-face communication platforms for meetings to reduce unnecessary travel and electronic communication and consultation methods will be encouraged wherever and whenever possible to keep the carbon footprint of the review to a minimum.  

Members considered the options within the report and agreed that the review of Members Allowances should take place in 2022 to enable the allowances to be set for the incoming Council 2023-28 (Option 1).  Members were supportive of this option, for the following reasons:

Ø  to provide clarity of allowances for candidates standing in the 2023 elections – could be a deciding factor whether to stand or not for some;

Ø  the need to attract candidates from all sectors of society in the 2023 elections;

Ø  important to keep regular incremental increases to avoid larger increases in the future; and

Ø  Members were able to decline allowances or any annual increase on an individual basis at any time.

Whilst not directly related to the review of allowances, it was noted that in terms of attracting new candidates to stand, the availability of hybrid meeting attendance was welcome but that consideration should also be given to the start time of Council meetings. 

RESOLVED: That an Independent Remuneration Panel be recruited and convened during 2022 to enable the current administration to set the Members’ Allowance Scheme for 2023-28.

(Councillor Prochak wished it to be recorded that she abstained from voting on this matter).