Issue - meetings

Report CSD16012

The regulations governing Members’ Allowances required that, before the beginning of each financial year, the Council made a scheme of allowances for that year and the report detailed the proposed allowances for 2016/17. The allowances had remained frozen since 2009 due to the economic circumstances and the pressure on the Council’s budgets. The Mayoral and Deputy Mayoral Allowances were not part of the scheme, but were usually considered in conjunction with it.

The Chairman reported that an informal cross-party working group had met to consider the Scheme.  The Working Group asked the Director of Corporate Services to review the Scheme within six months, so that any changes could be in place before the 2018 local election, but recommended that the following changes be made for the 2016/17 scheme, all within the existing budget –

(a) the allowances for the Chairmen of Development Control Committee, General Purposes and Licensing Committee, Executive and Resources PDS Committee and Health and Wellbeing Board be equalised at £8,670;

(b) the allowance for the Leader of the largest opposition group be aligned with the allowance for PDS Chairmen (£7,140), with the allowance for the Leader of the second opposition being half of this amount (£3,570). 

(c) The allowance for the Deputy Mayor be increased to the level of the Executive Assistants (£3,575);

(d) All amounts in the scheme be rounded up or down as appropriate to the nearest £5.

Schedule 1 to the scheme as amended by these proposals is set out below.

Allowances for the year ending 31st March 2017

RESOLVED that Council be recommended to approve the Members Allowances Scheme 2016/17 and the Mayoral and Deputy Mayoral Allowances for 2016/17, with allowances frozen except as amended above.