Allowances set to go up by more than £1,000 for East Cambs District councillors
Allowances are set to rise for East Cambs District councillors - Credit: Archant
Allowances are set to increase by more than £1,000 for councillors who serve on East Cambs District Council to bring them closer to other councils across the UK.
The sum will go up from £4,261 a year to £5,300.
Richard Tyler, chairman of an independent panel into allowances, said: “Our recommendations, including the change to the basic allowances of members, would go some way towards addressing the fact that East Cambridgeshire District Council’s allowances are lower than those paid by the majority of other councils both locally and nationally and this gap is widening.
“Now that the council is more financially stable and has a balanced budget, this widening gap should be closed.
“These recommendations will support the upcoming reduction of district council at the next elections and the recruitment and retention of a more representative cross-section of members.”
The increase has been made because:
• In 2011 the council reduced allowances by 10 per cent to help manage the council’s budget at the time.
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• A need to address the potential issue of only those who are retired or self-employed being able to afford to serve as a councillor.
• The reduction of the number of councillors from 39 to 28, which will be implemented at the next district council election in 2019.
Members have approved the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP).
The council agreed to amend the venue hire costs allowance for members’ surgeries to allocate up to a maximum of £100 a year each towards the costs of hiring venues.
The IRP members were Richard Tyler (Chairman), Richard Powell, Stanley Curtis and Margaret Clark.
