‘Morally wrong to pay them for job they’re not doing’

Bid to freeze special allowances blocked

Councillors chairing committees at the cash-strapped city authority will continue to be paid a special allowance despite most meetings being axed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Members had faced calls to freeze the payments amid the crisis and siphon the cash into helping stem financial losses suffered by the council. But the proposal was voted down by the ruling Tory group at an emergency meeting of the council to discuss budget changes forced by the virus crisis.

Opponents claim committee chairs should not continue to receive the special payments in addition to a standard allowance of almost £5,000 a year - at a time when some meetings are not taking place

But Conservative councillors argue those who hold the positions continue to work. The proposal to freeze payments from June 1 was voted downby10toseveninamove branded “morally wrong” by Labour councillor Dave Wilson. He said: “Committees are not meeting, therefore committee chairs should not be getting paid for doing no work.

“I really think people should think about the moral issue here and how it looks to residents.” His thoughts were echoed by Lib Dem Cllr Nick Eden-green, who said: “It is absolutely extraordinary that we should even consider carrying on paying people for a job they aren’t dong.”

The motion, however, faced stiff opposition, with chair of the policy and resources committee, Cllr Rachel Carnac (Con), arguing work is still being done. “I have meetings tomorrow I have them all the time,” she said.

“It’s not a matter that I just turn up and chair a meeting, so I am very disappointed members of the opposition really don’t appreciate the work of the chairmen of all committees.” Cllr Ashley Clark (Con) added: “It’s naive to think you just turn up at a meeting and chair it. You don’t, there’s much more to it. It’s naive in the extreme.”

Cllr Dave Wilson (Lab)