We’ll keep hold of free phones – to save money Councillors insist axing them would cost more
ROCHDALE councillors have voted against giving up their mobile phones – but for what they believe is a very good reason.
An independent panel has carried out the first review of members’ pay since 2016 – and nearly all its recommendations were accepted at a full council meeting on Wednesday night.
The four-year package includes a freeze on basic and special responsibility allowances, a raise for the chair of the audit committee and a new payment to leaders of oppositon groups with at least three members.
However, the recommendation for members to give up their councilissued mobile phones and £35 per month for calls and data was rejected.
Under proposed new arrangements, they would instead be able to claim £20 per month for any council-related use of their own devices.
Council leader Neil Emmott said that, while snubbing this may seem ‘contentious’ there was a ‘very simple’ explanation’ for doing so: it would cost the council more.
The new system, he told councillors, would result in an overall bill to the authority of £14,400 – more than double the £6,625 the authority paid out in 2020/21.
“Therefore I’m afraid what the remuneration panel is proposing is more than twice the amount we are spending currently on mobile phone usage for elected members.”
“And let’s also be clear,” he continued. “In the last year we probably saw greater usage of mobile phones due to the Covid pandemic.
“Because, very often when we were having virtual meetings on Zoom, some people were not able to access the meeting via computer or laptop and a number of people were having to dial into meetings using mobile phones.
“Clearly that was using a great deal of data.
“We thank the remuneration panel for their work, but I think they’ve slightly miscalculated on this one. What we are doing at the moment is actually cheaper than what the remuneration panel is proposing.”
Only one other recommendation was rejected – and that was the proposal to stop payments to the two members of the Greater Manchester transport committee.
They currently receive £4,182 per year for carrying out this duty.
Coun Emmott said: “I think this is an unfair recommendation. Those members serve on the committee – there are even sub-committees of that committee – and they do a sterling job in representing the transport issues in our borough. and
I do think they should receive a special responsibility allowance for that.”
Conservative group leader Ashley Dearnley seconded Coun Emmott’s proposals – and supported the recommendations ‘as amended’.
The new package of allowances was voted through unanimously. It includes: ● That the basic allowance for all 60 councillors will remain at £11,172 per year – subject to indexation – over the next four years.
● That the SRA for the Leader of the main opposition group is maintained at £11,731, set at 35pc of the leader’s SRA.
● That the qualifying criteria for paying an SRA to a leader of other opposition group[s] is reduced to three group members and the SRA is reset at £1,676, which is five per cent of the leader’s SRA.
● That the audit and governance chair is paid an SRA of £6,703, set at 20 pc of the leader’s SRA.
● That the members appointed to the council’s adoption and fostering Panel are paid an SRA of £1,676, which is five per cent of the leader’s SRA.