Issue - meetings

Members’ Allowance Scheme 2019/20

 

 

Meeting: 30/05/2019 - Independent Remuneration Panel (Item 5)

5 Members’ Allowance Scheme 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer that sought the views of the Independent Remuneration Panel on a Scheme of Members’ Allowances for 2019/20.

 

The following appendices were attached to this report to aid the Panel in their deliberations:

 

Appendix 1 – Current Scheme of Members’ Allowances

Appendix 2 - Liverpool City Region Local Authorities – Comparison of Members’ Allowances

Appendix 3 - Financial Impact of the Potential Indices

Appendix 4 – HMRC Employment Income Manual – Local Government Councillors and civic dignitaries in England: ODPM guidance: Part One: Members’ Allowances.

 

In particular, the Panel were asked to give consideration to the following matters:

 

(1)

(a)

Whether an increase in the allowance should be recommended to Council and that if so;

 

(b)

Should the increase be linked to one of the indexation options referred to in paragraph 3 of the report and that if so;

 

(c)

How long should the annual adjustments in accordance with the indexation continue (up to a maximum of four years); 

 

(2)

the Special Responsibility Allowances paid to Chairs of committees as referred to in paragraph 5 of the report; and 

 

(3)

the payment of Special Responsibility Allowances to Party Group Leaders as referred to in paragraph 6 of the report. 

The Chief Legal and Democratic Services Officer presented the report and answered questions thereon.

 

The Panel discussed how long any annual adjustment should continue and the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer indicated that 4 years was the maximum period under the legislation without the Independent Review Panel having to formally review the scheme; and that a 4-year period would also align with the Council’s intention to set a 3-year budget commencing April 2020.

 

 

RESOLVED: That having taken Sefton Council’s current economic circumstances into account, the Panel recommends to Council that:

 

(1)

the Members Allowance Scheme remain as it is, subject to (3) below;

 

 

(2)

payments under the Members Allowance Scheme be increased in accordance with the Local Government Pay Settlement each year, for a period of 4 years, commencing 2019/20; and

 

 

(3)

the Special Responsibility Allowances paid to opposition party group leaders be amended so that any group leader with 10 or more Members receive the full allowance (currently £4,575.35) and any group with less than 10 Members receive one tenth of that allowance for each Member in the group.