Agenda item

Summary:

The purpose of this report is to recommend to Council the allowances and expenses to be paid to Members to take effect from May 2020.  In accordance with the requirements of the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003, the Council set up an Independent Remuneration Panel as agreed at the meeting of Council held on 17 December 2019.  The terms of reference for the Panel were also agreed at the December meeting of Council.

Conclusions:

The Council is required to observe, as part of the legislation, the following; ‘before an authority makes or amends a scheme, it shall have regard to the recommendations made in relation to it by an independent remuneration panel’. The findings and recommendations of the Panel are detailed in this report.

Recommendations:

That Members consider the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel, adopt a scheme of allowances and amend the Constitution accordingly.  Specifically, it is recommended that:

a)    the Basic Allowance should increase to £5,750 pa (to include £180 Broadband Allowance);

b)    the Scheme should remain index linked to officers’ pay awards

c)    the broadband allowance should be included in the Basic Allowance (see Recommendation a)

d)    the Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) for the Leader of the Council should remain calculated by way of a multiplier of x2 the basic allowance;

e)    the SRA for Cabinet Members with Portfolio should remain calculated by way of a multiplier of x1.33 the basic allowance;

f)     the SRA for Chairmen of Committees of the Council (except Development Committee and Standards Committee) should remain calculated by way of a multiplier of x0.67 the basic allowance;

g)    the SRA for the Chairman of Development Committee to remain at x0.75 of the basic allowance, with the SRA for the Vice-chairman of Development Committee remaining at x0.25 of the basic allowance.

h)    the SRA for the Chairman of Standards Committee should be removed due to the infrequency of meetings and replaced with a per meeting payment of 2% of the Basic Allowance

i)      a new payment for Chairmen of Working Parties to be introduced on a per meeting basis of 2% of the Basic Allowance

j)      a new SRA of x0.25 the basic allowance for the Vice-Chairman of the Council be introduced to reflect the workload and demands of the role.

k)    the SRA for the Leaders of the opposition group should be calculated by way of a multiplier of x3% of the basic allowance times number of members in the group;

l)      payment of 2% of the basic allowance per meeting attended should be made to co-opted members of committees.

m)   thecarers’ allowance should remain at £10 per hour wage for child care and £20 per hour wage for specialist care (per carer).

n)    the existing travelling expenses scheme should be maintained, and it should be subject to amendment in accordance with prevailing national agreements;

o)    the subsistence expenses scheme should remain the same with the allowance for lunch at  £8.00 and the allowance for dinner at £20. Breakfast will only be payable when an overnight stay is required

p)    the changes proposed by the Panel are not backdated, but should take effect from the beginning of the municipal year, in May 2020;

All

Contact Officer:

All

Emma Denny, Democratic Services Manager

Emma.denny@north-norfolk.gov.uk