Agenda item

This report sets out the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel’s review of the Members’ Scheme of Allowances.

The Chair introduced Kim Hawkins a member of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) to introduce their report and recommendations. Kim Hawkins highlighted the following:

·         The purpose of the IRP was to review Members Allowances to ensure they were fit for purpose and reduce any financial barriers to being an elected Member.

·         The last full review of the Stroud District Council’s Members’ Allowance Scheme took place in 2016, a review of the Members ICT allowance had taken place in 2021.

·         A survey had been sent to all Members seeking feedback on the current scheme of allowances. 22 responses had been received and interviews were then held with 11 Members from each Political Group including members in receipt of a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA).

·         All recommendations made by the panel were based on the feedback received from Councillors and the consideration of other issues.

It was confirmed that the Panel wished to put in a robust structure of allowances that recognised:

·         The heavy responsibilities and workload that Stroud District Councillors undertook;

·         The difficulty and sensitivity for Councillors in managing challenging service delivery;

·         The community’s growing expectations of its Councillors; and

·         The potential financial barrier to people from all sectors standing for the Council.

Kim Hawkins advised that the IRP had made a total of 30 recommendations which have been summarised on page 17 of the document pack. She proceeded to highlight some of the key recommendations of the panel including:

·         The Basic Allowance for 2022/23 to be set at £5,976 with an incremental increase of £250 per year for the next three years and that the annual pay award would not be applied during this period.

·         Special Responsibility Allowances to be set as a percentage of the Basic Allowance and the SRA’s of the Audit and Standards and Development Control Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs to be brought in line with the SRA’s of the policy committee Chairs.

·         The role of the Deputy Leader to be formally recognised in the Scheme of Allowances and that the allowance for this position should be robust enough to represent the strategic nature of the role. 

·         Every Group Leader to receive a governance allowance plus another remuneration that was dependent on the size of the group.

·         Asked that Council put in place an agreed Member Champion framework to ensure greater understanding of the role of the Member Champion.

·         Updates made to the dependent care expenses

·         Updates made to the list of approved duties

·         The IRP will carry out a light touch review on an annual basis.

Councillor Pearson proposed an amendment due to the delay in the IRP carrying out the review which was originally due in 2020 and had been postponed due to the Covid Pandemic:

‘Council RESOLVES:

a)    To consider the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel and approve the recommendations summarised in section 4 of this report, and set out in full in the Panel’s report (Appendix A),(subject to the amendment set out in b) below); and

b)    To agree to make alternative provision for the Members’ Scheme of Allowances taking into account the Independent Remuneration Panel’s reportsubject to the following amendment to Recommendation 1, 2 and 3 of the Panel’s report:

                   Recommendation 1:

                   That the Basic Allowance for 2022/23be set at £6,108 with

effect 1^st April 2022.    

This is an increase of £382, part of which is the £250 uplift to be applied for 2022/23 and the additional £132 is the £250 uplift that would have been applied in 2021/22 had the review not been delayed, minus the annual pay award of £118 that Members have already received.

                   Recommendation 2:

That the Basic Allowance be developed incrementallyas shown in the table below:

–        2022/23 - £5,726 + £132 (2021/22 uplift) + £250 (2022/23 uplift) = £6,108

–        2023/24 - £6,108 + £250 = £6,358

–        2024/25 - £6,358 + £250 = £6,608

                   Recommendation 3:

That if, in2024/25, there is a significant shortfall for councillors in what they would have been awarded had the staff increases been applied instead, the Panel be given an opportunity to recommend that any shortfall be made up in that year.’

Councillor Pearson asked if the IRP were in support of his amendment. Kim Hawkins confirmed that the Panel had considered the amendment and accepted that if the review had been held earlier the recommendations would have been implemented in 2020/21 and therefore they supported the amendment proposed.

Councillor Watson seconded the amendment.

Councillor Cornell asked for any references to Stroud Council to be amended to Stroud District Council to avoid confusion.

On being put to the vote the amendment was carried.

Councillor Watson advised that the objective of the review was to ensure that the scheme was fit for purpose and to reduce financial barriers for elected Members. She stated that the scheme needed to be changed further to remove financial barriers and to ensure that they could attract the diverse range of candidates needed to meet the needs of a modern council and represent the electorate.

Councillor Hynd highlighted the removal of the cap on allowances for Dependent Carers and welcomed the changes and echoed Councillor Watsons comments.

On being put to the Vote, the Motion was carried.