Issue - meetings

To consider the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Worcestershire District Councils.

(Report attached)

The Committee considered the first report and recommendations that had been prepared by the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) for the Worcestershire Districts.

The IRP had recommended that the allowances available to members of the authority in 2011/12 should remain unchanged from the current levels of allowances. The only really significant change proposed was the removal of the allowance paid to Vice-Chairs.

Officers notified the Committee that several minor inaccuracies had been identified within one section of the report and tabled an amended version of the Allowance Recommendations 2011/12.

It was noted that the Group Leaders had not had the opportunity to discuss payment to Vice-Chairs and it was therefore agreed that any recommendation to Council should, at this stage, be in principle. To allow these discussions to take place it was further proposed that the recommendations be considered at the meeting of the Council on 21st February 2011.

RECOMMENDED that, in principle

1)      the Basic Allowances for 2011/2012 remain unchanged from those recommended for 2010/11 as set out in Appendix 1 to the report;

2)      the Special Responsibility Allowances for 2011/2012 remain unchanged from those recommended for 2010/11 in terms of sums paid, but that allowances be not paid to Vice-Chairs of Committees;

3)      travel and subsistence allowances for 2011/12 continue to be paid in accordance with the HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs Office) mileage allowance;

4)      the Dependent Carer’s Allowance remains unchanged; and

RESOLVED that

5)      these recommendations be considered at the 21^st February budget-setting meeting of the Council.

(This report had been accepted as a matter of Urgent Business – not on the Forward Plan – and was considered at the meeting as such, with the approval of the Chair, in accordance with the Council’s constitutional rules and the powers vested in the Chair by virtue of Section 100 (B) (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972 to agree to matters of urgency being discussed by reason of special circumstances.

In this case the special circumstances were that Members’ allowances needed to be approved in advance of the agreement of the budget for 2011/12 and the setting of the Council Tax.)