Agenda item

To receive the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) and consider its recommendations.   The Council is then invited to determine the Scheme of Allowances for Councillors for the remainder of this financial year (and, if appropriate for the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23).

Council formally received the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) and considered its recommendations with the view to determining the Scheme of Allowances for Councillors for the remainder of the 2020/21 financial year (and, if deemed appropriate, for the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23 as well).

Members were aware that the Council’s current Scheme of Allowances for Councillors had been adopted on 28 May 2019 (Minute 13 referred) and had then been amended by Council on 21 January 2020 (Minute 81 referred).  That Scheme would expire on 31 March 2021 unless a new scheme was adopted prior to then.

Members were also aware that before any Scheme of Allowances for Councillors could be adopted or amended the Council was required to have received and considered a report from its IRP on that Scheme.  The IRP for this Council had submitted its report and this was before Council as Appendix B to item A.5 of the Report of the Head of Democratic Services & Elections.  It was noted that this report had been submitted several months prior to the Local Government Pay Award for staff for 2020/21 and that there was reference to the Pay Award being used as an index for adjustments to the approved allowances.  Therefore, Members read the report in the light that since it had been prepared there had been a Pay Award of 2.75% for 2020/21 and that this was specifically referenced in Appendix C where both the IRP’s original recommendations and the revised figures following the Pay Award were detailed.

It was reported that the IRP’s recommendations had been advertised in the local press in accordance with the statutory Regulations.  The IRP’s report had also circulated to all political Group Leaders in the week commencing 1 June 2020.

It was reported that, along with proposals for specific Basic and Special Responsibility Allowance levels, the IRP report had also included, as referenced above, a recommendation that for this financial year and for 2021/22 and 2022/23 the pay award for Council staff nationally should be used as an index to be applied to the Allowances adopted.  If this were adopted, in terms of the legislation, this would be an alteration of the Allowances rather than an amendment and would not require a further review by the IRP.  Consequently, if adopted by Council, this index linking would have the effect that the next programmed review of Allowances would be for the financial year following the next scheduled elections to this Council (which were due to be held in May 2023).  The same would be the case in respect of the Carers’ Allowances and travel and subsistence allowances if linked to the Real Living Wage and HMRC rates, as appropriate, and as set out in the recommendations of the IRP.

Council was reminded that the recommendations of the IRP did not bind the Council.  However, in accordance with the principles of good decision making, Council would be required to clearly set out its reasons for determining the Scheme of Allowances it intended to adopt if it differed from that proposed by the IRP.  The Council had a statutory obligation to have regard to the IRP’s recommendations.

Having duly considered, in accordance with The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003, the recommendations made by the IRP:-

It was moved by Councillor Stock OBE and seconded by Councillor G V Guglielmi that -

(a)       Council notes the current Scheme of Allowances for Councillors as set out at Appendix A to item A.5 of the Report of the Head of Democratic Services & Elections (being Part 7 of the Council’s Constitution);

(b)       Council receives and considers the report of the IRP on Allowances for Councillors for the remainder of this financial year and for the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, as set out at Appendix B to the aforesaid report;

(c)        Council approves the proposed Scheme of Allowances for the remainder of this financial year (and, if appropriate, for the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23); and

(d)       the Scheme of Members’ Allowances in Part 7 of the Constitution be amended to reflect the agreed Scheme of Allowances.

Councillor Talbot then moved and Councillor Turner seconded that Councillor Stock’s motion be amended to read as follows:-

(a)    Council notes the current Scheme of Allowances for Councillors as set out at Appendix A to item A.5 of the Report of the Head of Democratic Services & Elections (being Part 7 of the Council’s Constitution); 

(b)    Council receives the report of the IRP on Allowances for Councillors for the remainder of this financial year and for the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, as set out at Appendix B to the aforesaid report.

(c)    Council determines that, having had regard to the report of the IRP referenced in (b) above and the recommendations set out therein:

(i)         the current Basic, Special Responsibility and Chairman/Vice-Chairman’s Allowances (as set out in Column B of Appendix C of the report submitted to Council) be approved as the Scheme of Allowances for the remainder of this financial year,

(ii)        the IRP’s recommendations in respect of travel, subsistence and dependant carer’s allowances, be approved and implemented from 1 October 2020;

(iii)      the indexing of Basic and Special Responsibility Allowances to the headline Local Government Pay Settlement, as recommended by the IRP, be approved with effect from 1 April 2021;

(iv)      no change be made to the current basis of calculating the Special Responsibility Allowance for leaders of political groups on the Council;

(v)       no change be introduced to restrict a Councillor, performing more than one of the special responsibilities as recognised in the Scheme of Allowances, from being able to claim the associated allowances for those responsibilities; and

(d)   the Scheme of Members’ Allowances in Part 7 of the Constitution be amended to reflect the agreed Scheme of Allowances.

Councillors Placey, I J Henderson, Miles, Allen, Bush, Porter, M E Stephenson, Harris, Bray, Steady, Griffiths, Scott, Coley, Clifton, Chapman, G V Guglielmi, Stock OBE and Turner addressed the Council on the subject matter of Councillor Talbot’s amendment.

In accordance with the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 19.4, Councillor I J Henderson asked that a record of the vote on Councillor Talbot’s amendment be taken.

Accordingly, the result of that recorded vote was as follows:

Councillor Talbot’s amendment was thereupon declared CARRIED and it therefore became the substantive motion.

In accordance with the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 19.4, Councillor I J Henderson asked that a record of the vote on Councillor Talbot’s substantive motion be taken.

Accordingly, the result of that recorded vote was as follows:

Councillor Talbot’s substantive motion was thereupon declared CARRIED.