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The report of the Independent Remuneration Panel appointed to review the allowances paid to Councillors
of Maidstone Borough Council
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1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
3. PRINCIPLES UNDERPINNING OUR REVIEW
3.1 The Public Service Principle
3.2 The Fair Remuneration Principle
4. CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
4.2 Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs)
Co-optees’/ Independent Persons Allowance
4.3 Travelling and Subsistence Allowance3
4.4 Dependants’ Carers’ Allowance3
4.7 Revocation of current Scheme of Allowances / Implementation of new Scheme4
5.2 Councillors’ views on the level of allowances
6. APPROVED COUNCILLOR DUTIES5
Appendix 1 Basic Allowance/Special Responsibility Allowances/Independent Persons & Co-optees’ Allowance/ Dependents’ Carers’ Allowance / Mayoral Allowances – Summary of Recommendations |
16 |
Appendix 2 Comparative data of allowances paid to councillors of the other Kent district and borough councils (South East Employers, Members Allowances Survey 2022) |
|
Derek Butler- Local Resident
Chris Hare - Chairman Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce and Local
Resident
Mark Palmer- Development Director, South East Employers (Chair)
(a) the amount of basic allowance to be payable to all councillors.
(b) the level of allowances and whether allowances should be payable for:
(i) special responsibility allowances.
(ii) travelling and subsistence allowance.
(iii) dependants’ carers’ allowance.
(iv) parental leave and.
(v) co-optees’ allowance.
(vi) Independent persons allowance
and the amount of such allowances.
(c) whether payment of allowances may be backdated if the scheme is amended at any time to affect an allowance payable for the year in which the amendment is made.
(d) whether adjustments to the level of allowances may be determined according to an index and if so which index and how long that index should apply, subject to a maximum of four years before its application is reviewed.
governance structure from a Committee Model to an Executive led Leader and
Cabinet Model, the ‘Strong Leader Model’ as defined in the Local Government Act
2007. The Panel was of the view that the recommendations made in March 2022
required re-visiting to ensure they were still fit for purpose.
Remuneration should not be an incentive for service as a councillor. Nor should lack of remuneration be a barrier. The basic allowance should encourage people from a wide range of backgrounds and with a wide range of skills to serve as local councillors. Those who participate in and contribute to the democratic process should not suffer unreasonable financial disadvantage as a result of doing so.[2]
(i) allowances should apply to roles within the Council, not individual councillors.
(ii) allowances should represent reasonable compensation to councillors for expenses they incur and time they commit in relation to their role, not payment for their work; and
(iii) special responsibility allowances are used to recognise the significant additional responsibilities which attach to some roles, not merely the extra time required.
(i) the voluntary quality of a councillor’s role.
(ii) the need for appropriate financial recognition for the expenses incurred and time spent by councillors in fulfilling their roles; and
(iii) the overall need to ensure that the scheme of allowances is neither an incentive nor a barrier to service as a councillor.
· Representatives of a particular ward.
· Community leaders.
· Decision makers for the whole Council area.
· Policy makers for future activities of the Council.
· Scrutineers and auditors of the work of the Council; and
· Regulators of planning, licensing and other matters required by Government.
Required Time Input
Public Service Discount (PSD)
Remuneration Rate
Calculating the basic allowance
Council |
Kent District/Borough Councils: Basic Allowances (£) 2022[8] |
Ashford Borough Council |
5,035 |
Canterbury City Council |
5,986 |
Dover District Council |
5,000 |
Folkestone & Hythe District Council |
5,433 |
Gravesham Borough Council |
5,041 |
Maidstone Borough Council |
5,635 |
Sevenoaks District Council |
5,715 |
Swale Borough Council |
6,786 |
Thanet District Council |
4,570 |
Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council |
5,175 |
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council |
5,500 |
Average |
5,443 |
WE THEREFORE RECOMMEND that
the Basic Allowance payable to all members of Maidstone Borough Council be £5,759.18
per annum
· Leader of the Council
· Deputy Leader of the Council
· Cabinet Members
· Leader of the Opposition Group
· Other Group Leader(s)
· Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee
· Chair of the Policy Advisory Committees (Four Committees)
· Chair of the Planning Committee
· Chair of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee
· Chair of the Licensing Committee
· Chair of the Democracy and General Purposes Committee
· Co-Opted Members of Audit, Governance and Standards Committee
· Mayor
· Deputy Mayor
· Independent Persons of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee
· Chair of Licensing Panel Meetings
· Licensing Panel Hearing Members
One SRA Only Rule
WE THEREFORE RECOMMEND that that no councillor shall be entitled to receive at any time more than one Special Responsibility Allowance and that this One SRA Only Rule be adopted into the Scheme of Allowances.
The Maximum Number of SRA’s Payable
Calculating SRAs
Council allowance based on a multiplier of the Basic Allowance; this role carries the
most significant additional responsibilities and is the most time consuming.
We grouped together in Tiers those roles that we judged to have a similar level of responsibility. The outline result of this approach is illustrated in a pyramid of responsibility:
The rationale for these twelve tiers of responsibility is discussed below.
Leader (Tier One)
WE RECOMMEND that the Leader of the Council should receive a Special Responsibility Allowance of 400% of the basic allowance, £23,036.72.
Deputy Leader (Tier Two)
WE RECOMMEND that the Deputy Leader receive a Special Responsibility Allowance of 60% of the Leader’s Allowance, £13,822.03.
Cabinet Members (Tier Three)
WE RECOMMEND that a Cabinet Member should receive an allowance of 50% of
the Leaders Allowance, £11,518.36.
Chairman of the Planning Committee (Tier Four)
Chair of Overview and Scrutiny (Tier Five)
ensures accountability of the cabinet decisions, the holding to account of the cabinet and can have a key role in ensuring public and partner engagement in the decision making process. The role and positional authority of overview and scrutiny was further enhanced as part of the 2019 Statutory Government Guidance. The review highlighted that the volume of work of overview and scrutiny and the impact on the role of the Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny justified an increase of the allowance from 30% to 35% of the Leader’s Allowance. The Panel therefore recommends that the Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny receive a Special Responsibility Allowance of 35% of the Leader’s Allowance, £8,062.85.
WE RECOMMEND that the Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny receive a Special Responsibility Allowance of 35% of the Leaders Allowance, £8,062.85.
Leader of the Opposition Group (Tier Six)
WE RECOMMEND that the Leader of the Opposition should receive a Special Responsibility Allowance of 30% of the Leader’s Allowance, £6,911.02.
Chairman of Licensing Committee and Chairman of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee (Tier Seven)
WE RECOMMEND that the Chairman of the Licensing Committee and the Chairman of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee should receive a Special Responsibility Allowance of 20% of the Leader’s Allowance, £4,607.34.
Chairman of the Policy Advisory Committees and Mayor (Tier Eight)
WE RECOMMEND that the Chairmen of the Policy Advisory Committees receive an allowance of 15% of the Leader’s Allowance, £3,455.51.
WE RECOMMEND that the Mayor should receive a Special Responsibility Allowance of 15% of the Leader’s Allowance, £3,455.51.
Group Leaders Allowance and Chairman of the Democracy and General Purposes
Committee (Tier Nine)
Tier Nine Allowance, 10% of the Leader’s Allowance £2,303.67. WE FURTHER
RECOMMEND that in order for a Group Leader to receive a Special
Responsibility Allowance the group should have at least 10% of total Members
in the Group (six Members). WE ALSO RECOMMEND that the Chairman of the
Democracy and General Purposes Committee should also receive a Special
Responsibility Allowance of 10% of the Leader’s Allowance, £2,303.67.
Deputy Mayor (Tier Ten)
has an impact across the Council area and a workload based on a
number of civic engagements. The Panel continues to be of the view that the role of
Deputy Mayor should receive an allowance based on 50% of the Mayoral
Allowance, £1,727.76.
WE RECOMMEND that the Deputy Mayor should receive a Tier Ten
Allowance, 50% of the recommended Mayoral Allowance, £1,727.76.
Independent Person, Audit, Governance and Standards (Tier Eleven)
|
Amount per annum |
Link |
Peterborough |
£1500 |
|
Hertfordshire |
£1000 |
Independent Member of the Audit Committee | | November 2021 (jobsgopublic.com) |
Southend |
£1084 |
|
Sevenoaks & Dartford |
£1600 (two Councils) |
Independent Member - Audit Committee | March 2022 (jobsgopublic.com) |
Sunderland |
£3139 |
WE RECOMMEND that the Independent Person for Audit should receive an
allowance of 35% of the Committee, £1,633.57. The Independent Person should
also receive travel, subsistence and other expenses in accordance with the
scheme applicable to councillors
Independent Person, Audit, Governance and Standards (Tier Twelve)
WE RECOMMEND that the Independent Person should receive an allowance of 20% of the Chairman of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee, £921.47 per annum. The Independent Person should also receive travel and subsistence and other expenses in accordance with the scheme applicable to councillors.
Co-Opted Members of Audit, Governance and Standards Committee, Reserve
Independent Person Audit, Governance and Standards (Tier Thirteen)
The Panel therefore recommends that the Co-Opted Members should receive a Tier Thirteen allowance,10% of the Chairman of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee, £460.73
Audit, Governance and Standards should receive an allowance of 10% of the recommended allowance of the Chairman of Audit, Governance and Standards, £460.73.
WE RECOMMEND that the Co-Opted Members of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee and the Reserve Independent Person for Audit, Governance and Standards Committee should both receive a Tier Thirteen Allowance, 10% of the Chairman of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee , £460.73.
Chairman of Licensing Panel Hearings and Licensing Panel Hearing Members.
.
WE RECOMMEND that the Chairman of Licensing Panel Hearings continue to
receive an allowance of £84.19 per meeting and the Licensing Panel Hearing
Members continue to receive an allowance of £63.41 per meeting.
WE RECOMMEND that travelling and subsistence allowance should continue to be payable to councillors, Independent Persons and co-optees in connection with any approved duties. The amount of travel and subsistence payable shall continue to be at the maximum levels payable to council staff in line with HM Revenue and Customs’ rates. Finally, we continue to recommend that councillors should be eligible to claim for travel and subsistence for approved site visits as members of a committee. We propose no further changes to the current travel and subsistence allowances.
WE THEREFORE RECOMMEND that the Dependent Carers’ Allowance should be based on two rates childcare and specialist care. The childcare rate should be linked to the Real Living Wage as recommended by the Living Wage Foundation, currently £10.90 per hour (reviewed on an annual basis).
Specialist care should be based at cost upon production of receipts (at a minimum rate of the Real Living Wage) and in the case of specialist care a requirement of medical evidence that this type of care be required, the allowance should have no daily or monthly maximum claim when undertaking Approved Councillor Duties.
WE ALSO RECOMMEND that the Council should actively promote the allowance to prospective and new councillors both before and following an election. This may assist in supporting greater diversity of councillor representation.
WE RECOMMEND that the approach recommended in 2022 is adopted as a basis
of a policy to support parental leave for councillors. The Parental Leave policy
for Councillors should be actively promoted to prospective and
current Councillors alongside the Dependents’ Carers Allowance. This should
form part of a wider ‘Be A Councillor’ (LGA led initiative) programme led by the
Council and supported by political groups; to enhance and further increase the
diversity of councillor representation.
WE RECOMMEND that the basic allowance, each of the SRAs and the Independent Peron(s) and Co-optee(s)’ Allowance be increased annually in line with the percentage increase in staff salaries (NJC Terms and Conditions) from April 2024 for a period of up to four years. After this period, the Scheme shall be reviewed again by an independent remuneration panel.
WE THEREFORE RECOMMEND that the new scheme of allowances to be agreed by the Council be implemented with effect from the beginning of the 2024-25 municipal year, at which time the current scheme of allowances will be revoked.
WE THEREFORE RECOMMEND: That no changes are made to the Approved Duties as outlined in the Members’ Allowance Scheme.
Mark Palmer (Chair of the Independent Remuneration Panel)
Development Director, South East Employers
July 2023
Appendix 1: Summary of Panel’s Recommendations
Current Amount for 2021-22 |
Number |
Recommended Allowance (45% PSD) |
Recommended Allowance Calculation |
||
Basic (BA) |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Basic: |
£5,635.34 |
55 |
£5,759.18 |
|
|
|
|
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|
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Special Responsibility: |
|
|
|
|
|
Leader of the Council |
£22,540 |
1 |
£23,036.72 |
400% of BA |
|
Deputy Leader |
£13,524 |
1 |
£13,822.03 |
60% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Cabinet Member |
£11,270 |
8 |
£11,518.36 |
50% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Chairman of Planning Committee |
£9,016 |
1 |
£9,214.69 |
40% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny |
£6,762 |
1 |
£8,062.85 |
35% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Leader of the Opposition |
£6,762 |
1 |
£6,911.02 |
30% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Chairman of Policy Advisory Committees |
£5,635 |
4 |
£3,455.51 |
15% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Chairman of Licensing |
£4,508 |
1 |
£4,607.34 |
20% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Chairman of Audit, Governance and Standards |
£4,508 |
1 |
£4,607.34 |
20% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Mayor |
£3,381 |
1 |
£3,455.51 |
15% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Group Leaders 1. |
£2,254 |
3 |
£2,303.67 |
10% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Democracy and General Purposes Committee |
£2,254 |
1 |
£2,303.67 |
10% of Leader’s Allowance |
|
Deputy Mayor |
£1,691 |
1 |
£1,727.76 |
50% of Mayor’s Allowance |
|
Independent Person Audit (Audit, Governance and Standards)
|
NO SRA |
1 |
£1,633.57 |
35% of Chairman of Audit, Governance and Standards Allowance |
|
Independent Person Standards (Audit, Governance and Standards) |
£902 |
1 |
£921.47 |
20% of the Chairman of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee |
|
Co-Opted Members of Audit, Governance and Standards |
£451 |
2 |
£460.73 |
10% of Chairman of Audit, Governance and Standards Committee |
|
Reserve Independent Person for the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee |
|
|
£460.73 |
10% of the Chairman of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee |
|
Chairman of Licensing Panel Hearing |
£84.19 per meeting |
1 |
£84.19 per meeting |
|
|
Licensing Panel Hearing Members |
£63.41 per meeting |
|
£63.41 per meeting |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. SRA only payable to Group Leaders with at least 10% of Total Members within the Group (Six Members).
[1] The former Office of Deputy Prime Minister – now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and The Inland Revenue (now HM Revenue and Customs), New Council Constitutions: Guidance on Consolidated Regulations for Local Authority Allowances, London: TSO, July 2003, paragraph 68.
[2] Rodney Brooke and Declan Hall, Members’ Remuneration: Models, Issues, Incentives
and Barriers. London: Communities and Local Government, 2007, p.3.
[3] The former Office of Deputy Prime Minister – now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and The Inland Revenue (now HM Revenue and Customs), New Council Constitutions: Guidance on Consolidated Regulations for Local Authority Allowances, London: TSO, July 2003, paragraph 67.
[4] The former Office of Deputy Prime Minister – now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, The Inland Revenue (now HM Revenue and Customs), New Council Constitutions: Guidance on Consolidated Regulations for Local Authority Allowances, London: TSO, July 2003, paragraphs 66-81.
[6] The basic allowance, special responsibility allowance, dependants’ carers’ allowance, and co-optees’ allowance are taxable as employment income.
[7] The Nomis official labour market statistics: Hourly Pay – Gross median (£) For full-time employee jobs by place of residence: UK December 2022.
[8] Figures drawn from the South East Employers, Members’ Allowances Survey 2022 (October 2021).
[9] The former Office of Deputy Prime Minister – now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and The Inland Revenue (now HM Revenue & Customs), New Council Constitutions: Guidance on Consolidated Regulations for Local Authority Allowances, London: TSO, July 2003, paragraph 72.