Stafford Borough councillors are set to receive an extra £325.25 a year after they agreed to an increase in their members’ allowance after an independent remuneration panel recommended raising councillors’ allowances after reviewing the scheme.
The changes approved at Tuesday’s full council meeting (February 11) will come into force on April 1. They mean the basic annual allowance, which is paid in 12 monthly instalments, will rise from £5342.98 to £5668.23.
Conservative councillors proposed an alternative proposal for a smaller increase in members’ allowances. They said this would result in a £11,520 saving for the authority.
Councillor Mark Winnington, who presented the alternative budget proposals at Tuesday’s meeting, said:
“We hope that the administration will agree with merely a 2.5% increase, in line with officers.”
Opposition group leader Jeremy Pert, who seconded the proposals, said:
“Now is not the time to break ranks with all our officers, in such a difficult time in local government.”
However, the alternative proposal failed to gain enough support from fellow councillors to be passed. They went on to vote in favour of the recommended increase.
Special responsibility allowances, paid to councillors with additional roles, are set to increase by 2.5%. Under the new scheme, the leader of the council will be able to claim an additional £12778.60 on top of the basic allowance, while the deputy leader will be in line for an extra £9127.57 a year.
Special responsibility allowances for cabinet members will be £6936.94, and the opposition group leader can claim £4868.04. Committee chairs’ additional allowances will range from £1156.15 to £5111.44.
The independent panel report, presented to Tuesday’s full council meeting, said:
“Responses to the members’ survey indicated that the majority of councillors considered that the current basic allowance was either too low or about right. The majority of responses considered that the roles that attracted Special Responsibility Allowances was appropriate and that the current allowances for those roles were reasonable.
“Upon speaking to councillors, the panel noted that the amount of allowances did not appear to be the motivating factor behind why individuals stood for election. Members did raise concerns about the need to attract councillors from all walks of life; however it was not considered that a significant increase in allowances would be an effective, or appropriate, solution to that issue
“The panel noted the findings made by a previous panel at the last review where they considered that statistically there did appear to be a case for increasing allowances. The panel was also aware that the council operated shared service arrangements with neighbouring Cannock Chase District Council.
“The panel noted that the council’s basic allowance was below that paid at Cannock Chase Council and that it was also below the average paid to other similar councils within its family group The panel considered that there was a reasonable case to increase the basic allowance to close the gap on the average paid at other councils within the “family group”.
“There were insufficient grounds provided to suggest that Special Responsibility Allowances should be amended at this time. It is noted that all allowances in the current 2024/25 scheme will be increased by 2.5% to reflect the recent officer pay award; the panel considered that the current basic allowance should then also be increased by 3.5% to close the aforementioned gap.”
