COUNCILLORS WILL VOTE ON £1,222 RISE IN PAY... FOR THEMSELVES
Allowance hike recommended by panel
COUNCILLORS in Stoke-ontrent will receive a pay rise of over £1,000 each – if they vote to accept the recommendations of an independent panel.
All 44 elected members on Stokeon-trent City Council currently receive a basic allowance of £12,000 a year, with the council leader, cabinet members and committee chairs pocketing additional payments on top of this.
An remuneration panel – made up of non-councillors – has now recommended an increased basic allowance of £13,222 – the first increase since 2012.
The panel has also recommended that the ‘special responsibility allowances’ (SRAS) paid to councillors holding senior positions, on top of their basic allowance, should also increase.
The overall cost of the scheme will increase by £76,077 to £823,077, if the recommendations are accepted.
Councillors will vote on whether to accept the panel’s recommendations at Thursday’s full council meeting.
In his foreword to the report, panel chair Dr Peter Beszter says the review has aimed to strike a balance between the fact that councillors are required to make a ‘voluntary effort’ and the need to offer them sufficient financial compensation to ensure a good mix of candidates.
Dr Beszter says that in addition to attending meetings and debates, councillors are required to carry out case work ‘often at all times of the day and night’, which can prevent them pursuing a career outside politics.
He says: “The panel understands that the council may be sensitive to the financial implications of its recommendations and the public perception arising out of the recommendations.
“However, the panel emphasises that its function has been to take a view on what the roles are worth and what remuneration they deserve. As such, while the panel’s recommendations are not mandatory, it is hoped that if the council disagrees with the actual figures recommended, that it would nonetheless accept the panel’s logic.”
Councillor Jane Ashworth, left, leader of the Labour group, will be voting against the proposed increase to the basic allowance.
She said: “The overall cost of these proposals is around £77,000. I think the council could spend that money in better ways.
“It isn’t a huge amount of money in the grand scheme of things, but I think it could be spent more effectively.
“I do agree with increasing the payment for the audit committee chair so it’s in line with the other big committees. The audit committee has an important role in holding the council leaders to account, and so its chair should be someone with sufficient gravitas.”