Agenda item

The Electoral Services Manager presented the Independent Remuneration Panel’s (IRP’s) report in respect of their proposals for Members’ allowances in the 2024/25 financial year.  This report had been prepared in December 2023, but the decision had been taken by Members to postpone making a decision on this subject until after the local elections held in May 2024.

In considering the report, Members were asked to note that the IRP had made recommendations about Members’ allowances based on information that they had gathered.  There was no requirement for the Council to approve all of the IRP’s recommendations, however, Members needed to give due regard to the proposals detailed in the report.

Following the presentation of the report, the Leader circulated a table detailing proposals for Members’ allowances for the 2024/25 financial year (Appendix 1).  This included the following:

·             An increase of 3 per cent on the basic allowance of £4,732 to £4,874 for all Members.  The proposed increase was justified on the basis that this linked to inflation.  A greater increase of 16.6 per cent, to reach the level suggested by the IRP, was considered to be too steep to be justifiable in the current financial climate.

·             Retaining multipliers of the previous basic allowance of £4,732 for the majority of Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs) payable to Members in specific roles at the authority.  This was suggested in order to limit the potential increases in payments of allowances that would otherwise arise for all SRAs as a result of the increase to the basic allowance.

·             Exceptions to the position outlined in respect of the SRAs included proposed increases to the SRAs for the position of Chair of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee and the leader of the opposition, where increases to these SRA were proposed to £3,500 and £4,500 per annum respectively.  These increases were proposed in recognition of the significant workload and responsibilities attached to these roles.

·             Whilst the position was not referred to in the table, Members were asked to note that the SRA for the position of Chair of a Scrutiny Task Group would be retained at a level of £1,183 per annum. 

·             Whilst the increase to the basic allowance would result in a slight increase in overall costs associated with Members’ allowances, the reduction in the number of Councillors from 29 to 27 in May 2024 would help to limit the impact of these increases.  Furthermore, the Section 151 Officer had confirmed that these increases could be accommodated within existing budgets.

·             The proposed changes to the Members’ allowances for the 2024/25 financial year would be backdated to 7^th May 2024, which was the first date on which Members elected in May 2024 became Councillors.

The Committee discussed the proposed amendments to Members’ Allowances and in doing so noted that they had considered the information provided in the IRP’s report.  There was general consensus that recommendations 3 to 6 in the IRP’s report could be supported, as these would not result in any changes to the provision of Members’ allowances or an increase in costs.  Whilst the changes discussed at the meeting meant that the Committee would not be supporting the IRP’s first and second recommendations, the increase to the basic allowance would help to reduce the gap between allowances paid to Redditch Borough Councillors and Members representing other local authorities in Worcestershire.

RECOMMENDED

1)          a Basic Allowance for 2024-25 of £4,874, representing a 3% increase;

2)          a range of Special Responsibility Allowances as set out in Appendix 1 to these minutes, with the addition of the SRA for the role of Chair of a Scrutiny Task Group of £1,183;

3)          that travel allowances for 2024-25 continue to be paid in accordance with the HMRC mileage allowance;

4)          that subsistence allowances for 2024-25 remain unchanged;

5)          that the Dependent Carer’s Allowance remains unchanged;

6)          that travel and subsistence payments made by Parish Councils to councillors (where they are paid) are made in accordance with the provisions set out in this report; and

7)          that these changes to the Members Allowances Scheme for 2024/25 be backdated to take effect from 7^th May 2024 onwards.