Issue - meetings

Following the parliamentary approval of the Buckinghamshire (Structural Changes) Order 2019, Buckinghamshire Council will come into effect on 1 April 2020 and the current Aylesbury Vale District Council, Buckinghamshire County Council, Chiltern District Council, South Bucks District Council and Wycombe District Council will cease to exist. The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 (the Regulations) require a relevant authority to make a scheme having regard to the recommendations of an Independent Remuneration Panel.

RESOLVED:

That having regard to the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) the Shadow Executive agree to recommend to the Shadow Authority meeting on 27 February 2020 to adopt the Scheme of Members’ Allowances for the Interim Period and for the period from 11 May 2020 to 31 March 2021 as attached as Appendix 2.

S Ashmead, Monitoring Officer, presented the report that set out the Scheme of Members Allowances for the new council following elections in May and also covered the interim period from 1 April 2020.  The allowances had been set following recommendations from the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) following their research and review. It was noted that the basic allowance would apply to all members from 11 May 2020 and the special responsibility allowances would change to reflect the roles within the new council as it became clearer what those would entail.

The report set out a number of recommendations from the IRP; those included in the report to agree and those not taken forward.  S Ashmead made reference to the recommendation to include a ‘clawback’ of allowances if required, however the recommendation was not taken forward as advice had been given that it was not legal to enforce.

Members highlighted they were pleased to see the importance placed on the position of Chairman for the new Community Boards, but also mentioned the heavy workload on Members who currently served on the county council and a district council (twin hatters) in the interim period that was not reflected in the scheme.

F Wilson highlighted that the scheme did not encourage the cultural change that was needed due to its hierarchal structure.

In response to questions from Members, S Ashmead stated the following:

• Role profiles for Members were included in the report and would also be part of the member induction programme.
• The current Chairman and Vice Chairman could claim expenses in the interim period.  This had reflected the model used in Dorset but an SRA for them could be added in prior to the scheme being agreed by the Shadow Authority.  The Shadow Executive agreed that the decisions on the amount would be delegated to the Leader and Monitoring Officer to include.
• The scheme would be reviewed periodically.
• Legally all members were to be paid the same regardless of being a twin hatter.

RESOLVED:

That having regard to the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) the Shadow Executive agree to recommend to the Shadow Authority meeting on 27 February 2020 to adopt the Scheme of Members’ Allowances for the Interim Period and for the period from 11 May 2020 to 31 March 2021 as attached as Appendix 2.

The decision was agreed by majority with F Wilson not in support of the recommendation.