‘Allowances must change’
A cash cut for councillors has been proposed to lessen the stress on the city’s purse strings by hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Sunderland’s Liberal Democrats have repeated long-held concerns about the number of Labour members on Sunderland City Council in receipt of Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs).
They say more than 80% of its 74 councillors receive a SRA, including the acting leader of the council, cabinet members as well as the mayor, their deputy, committee chairmen and deputy holders of cabinet-level portfolios.
It says as the party in control, the Labour group allocates these additional allowances – some running into tens of thousands of pounds.
The Lib Dems have asked the Independent Renumeration Panel for an investigation into the issue and wants to see more cash going into services for residents.
They have proposed an overall reduction of £250,000 in allowances, a cap on the number receiving SRAs at no more than 25, the removal of SRAs given to deputy cabinet members, committee chairmen, mayor and deputy mayor and the removal of travel expenses, except where they relate to trips outside of Sunderland.
Party campaigner Martin Haswell said: “Despite having the power to reduce expenses and allowances, the Labour-run council has for decades shamefully refused to do so.”
Cabinet Secretary, Coun Mel Speding, said: “This is a typical distraction tactic used by local Lib Dems, whose leader, having been caught with both hands in the cookie jar, (gorging himself at a council event on Danish pastries and seeking a 75% rise in his allowances), now suggest that the allowance to Deputy Cabinet Members, Committee Chairs, The Mayor and Deputy Mayor should be removed.
He added that the Lib Dem proposal “fails to recognise the valuable role played by Deputy Cabinet Members and Committee Chairs.”