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 2016;

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)        Special Responsibility Allowances or Non-Executive Member paymentsshould be limited to one per Member, being the one with the highest value, to bring the Council into line with the industry standard;

4)        there be no change in the rate payable for the Childcare and Dependent’s Carers’ Allowance as set out the current Members Allowances Scheme in that it be set at the National Minimum/Living wage, whatever that may be in the future;

5)        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;

6)        the £500 component of the Basic Allowance for out of pocket expenses should continue.

The Council received and considered a report from the Independent Remuneration Panel, as set out on Agenda pages 35 to 42, following their annual review of the Members’ Allowances Scheme.

David Jones, Chairman of the Independent Remuneration Panel,addressed the meeting.  He paid tribute to his colleagues on the Panel: Nicky Measures, Malcolm Saffin, Barry Cochrane and Brian Shearing.  He also thanked Democratic Services Officersfor the guidance and administrative support that they had provided to the Panel.

In presenting the report, David Jones highlighted the following points:

·         The Panel had met four times, had reviewed extensive information supplied to it and met a number of Councillors including the Leader of the Council and the Liberal Democrat Group Leader;

·         The Panel were recommending that the time contributed component of the Basic Allowance be increased by 1% to reflect increases in Officer pay. This would increase the total Basic Allowance to £7,618;

·         That in future any changes to the time contributed element of the Basic Allowance should mirror any increases in Officer pay;

·         A number of Members had made representations about the cost of car parking following the introduction of evening car park charges. However, the Panel concluded that car parking fees were covered by the out of pocket expenses element of the Basic Allowance;

·         The Panel received representations about Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs) and acknowledged that some roles may have changed. However, it concluded that there should not be any increase in the level of Special Responsibility Allowances this year, but would welcome the submission of further evidence to support a change during its review in 2017;

·         The Panel revisited the issue of the number of SRAs payable to Members. At present the Council’s Constitution stated that Executive Members were only entitled to receive one SRA whilst non-Executive Members could receive more than one. The Panel had reviewed benchmarking data from South East Employers and decided to recommend that the Council move to a system of one SRA or Non-Executive Director payment for both Executive and non-Executive Members from 2017 onwards. This would bring the Council into line with similar local authorities;

·         A number of Members had raised concerns about transparency surrounding payments to Non-Executive Directors and payments to Members from other organisations. The Panel welcomed the Council’s decision to publish all relevant information on its website.

·         The level of Travel and Subsistence Allowance was not raised as a significant issue;

·         The Panel recommended that there be no changes to the existing arrangements for Childcare and Dependent’s Carers’ Allowance and that it continue to be linked to the National Minimum Wage/Living Wage;

·         The Panel reiterated its earlier view that expenses and allowances were rights which Members were entitled to without fear or prejudice.

Keith Baker thanked the Independent Remuneration Panel for their efforts and their report to Council. He recognised the current anomaly relating to Special Responsibility Allowances and the advice from the Panel. He also noted the position in other Berkshire authorities where Executive Member allowances were significantly higher than similar allowances at the Council. On balance, therefore, he felt that the anomaly should be resolved by allowing all Members of the Council to be entitled to receive more than one Special Responsibility Allowance.

Other Members felt that the Independent Remuneration Panel’s advice should be followed in relation to Special Responsibility Allowances. They felt that Members should be seen to set an example of restraint at a time when the Council and local residents were facing a difficult financial climate.

It was moved by Keith Baker and seconded by Julian McGhee-Sumner that the Independent Remuneration Panel’s Recommendations, set out on Page 41 of the Agenda, be amended as follows.

“That Council agree:

1)      to accept the Independent Remuneration Panel’s Recommendations (1), (2), (4), (5) and (6) as set out in their report;

2)      that Recommendation (3) not be adopted;

3)      to an additional Recommendation as follows:

“All Members to be entitled to receive more than one Special Responsibility Allowance”.

Prior to a vote being held, six Members, in accordance with Rule of Procedure 4.2.15.15, requested that a recorded vote be taken on the proposed amendment.  The voting was as follows:

Following debate, upon being put to the vote, the amendment was declared by the Mayor to be carried.

Note

A number of Members abstained from voting on the amendment on the grounds that they believed that they may derive some future financial benefit from the proposed change to the Members’ Allowances Scheme.

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 2016;

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)      all Members to be entitled to receive more than one Special Responsibility Allowance;

4)      there be no change in the rate payable for the Childcare and Dependent’s Carers’ Allowance as set out in the current Members Allowances Scheme in that it be set at the National Minimum/Living Wage, whatever that may be in the future;

5)      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;

6)      the £500 component of the Basic Allowance for out of pocket expenses should continue.