Agenda item

To receive the report and recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel following their annual review of the Members’ Allowances Scheme.

RECOMMENDATION The Independent Remuneration Panel recommends to Council that:

(1)          The time contributed component of the Basic Allowance be increased by 1% to reflect the increase in Officer pay, backdated to 1 April 2017;

(2)          There be no change made to the multiples of the Special Responsibility Allowances paid to those roles as set out in the current Members’ Allowances Scheme;

(3)          With effect from 1 April 2018, Special Responsibility Allowances should be limited to one per Member  (not including Non-Executive Director payments) that being the one with the highest value;

(4)          In line with the motion passed by Council on 26 September 2016, Members be reminded to provide information for publication on the website regarding payments received from any outside bodies to which they were appointed by Wokingham Borough Council;

(5)          The publication of Members' payments on the website be reviewed with a view to make the information more prominent and immediately visible;

(6)          The £500 component of the Basic Allowance for out of pocket expenses should be increased to £600, to contribute to the cost of parking at Shute End;

(7)          The £500 component of the Basic Allowance for the provision of IT should continue to be claimed only by those Members who provide facilities which allow constituents and Officers to communicate with them by e-mail and the self-certification process be continued;

(8)         The rate payable for the Childcare and Dependants Carers' Allowance be increased to £10ph for up to 35 hours per month.

The Council considered the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP), set out at Agenda Pages 51 to 59, following their annual review of the Council’s Members’ Allowances Scheme. 

The IRP Chairman, Tom Berman, addressed the Council and thanked his colleagues on the panel, Nick Oxborough and David George, for their contributions. He also thanked Arabella Yandle, Democratic Services, for the support she had provided to the Panel.

In presenting the report, Tom Berman highlighted the following issues:

·           The Panel met eight times and interviewed 13 Members including the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive.  The Panel also issued a questionnaire, receiving a response from 27 Members. Due to time constraints, the 2017 review had been “light touch”.

·           The Panel was rigorous in testing each of its recommendations against three core principles:  (i) Was it affordable relative to the Council’s budget constraints?  (ii) Was it reasonably similar to good practice in other unitary authorities in the region? (iii) Would Borough residents consider it to be fair?

·           The Panel recommended that the time contributed part of the Basic Allowance be increased by 1% backdated to 1^st April 2017. This matched the annual increase in Officer pay for 2016/17.

·           In regard to the component of the Basic Allowance for Out of Pocket Expenses, the Panel took into account representations made to it concerning car parking expenses at Shute End and the significant fact that Out of Pocket Expenses had been held at the same level for several years and, accordingly, the Panel recommended that this component be increased from £500 to £600 per annum.

·           In regard to the third component of the Basic Allowance, namely the provision of IT, communication and home office facilities, the Panel recommended no change to the existing £500 allowance.

·           In regard to Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs), the Panel noted confusion in previous years about the linkage between SRAs and remuneration to Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) on Council-owned companies and payments to Members on outside bodies such as the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority. Legal advice confirmed that the Panel had no remit outside of the Members’ Allowances Scheme. Consequently, the Panel’s recommendations did not extend to NED or other payments.

·           The Panel recommended that, with effect from1st April 2018, Special Responsibility Allowances should be limited to one per Member, that being the one with the highest value. The question of the level of SRA payments for different roles would be addressed by the Panel in a more detailed review in 2018.

Charlotte Haitham Taylor thanked the Independent Remuneration Panel for their efforts and their report to Council. She recommended that the Panel’s proposals be accepted in full but also suggested that all Members forgo the proposed additional £100 for out of pocket expenses pending the next IRP review in 2018.

It was moved by Charlotte Haitham Taylor and seconded by John Halsall that the Independent Remuneration Panel’s Recommendations, set out on Agenda page 58, be approved:

Following debate, upon being put to the vote, the Mayor declared that the recommendations were approved.

In accordance with Procedural Rule 4.2.15.6 Andy Croy requested that his vote against the recommendations be recorded in the Minutes.

RESOLVED that:

1)     the time contributed component of the Basic Allowance be increased by 1% to reflect the increase in Officer pay, backdated to 1 April 2017;

2)     there be no change made to the multiples of the Special Responsibility Allowances paid to those roles as set out in the current Members’ Allowances Scheme;

3)     with effect from 1 April 2018, Special Responsibility Allowances be limited to one per Member (not including Non-Executive Director payments) that being the one with the highest value;

4)     in line with the Motion passed by Council on 26 September 2016, Members be reminded to provide information for publication on the website regarding payments received from any outside bodies to which they were appointed by Wokingham Borough Council;

5)     the publication of Members’ payments on the website be reviewed with a view to making the information more prominent and immediately visible;

6)     the £500 component of the Basic Allowance for out of pocket expenses be increased to £600, to contribute to the cost of parking at Shute End;

7)     the £500 component of the Basic Allowance for the provision of IT continue to be claimed only by those Members who provide facilities which allow constituents and Officers to communicate with them by email and the self-certification process be continued;

8)     the rate payable for the Childcare and Dependant Carers’ Allowance be increased to £10 per hour for up to 35 hours per month.