Decision on councillor pay rises delayed

2 hours ago

Paul Moseley,Norfolk political reporterand

Henry Durand,Local Democracy reporter

News image — A report recommended changes to how much councillors in Norwich were paid each year

Martin Barber/BBC The outside of Norwich City Council, also known as City Hall in Norwich. — A report recommended changes to how much councillors in Norwich were paid each year

A decision on whether to increase pay has been put off by city councillors ahead of plans to scrap the authority.

An independent review recommended that allowances of £7,805 a year for Norwich City councillors – along with higher pay for senior councillors – should be increased.

But with plans to abolish the authority as part of local government reorganisation, and ahead of elections in May, members agreed the pay review should take place again.

In a survey of councillors, almost three quarters who took part felt they were not being paid enough.

Just over half of the council's 39 members took part, with 14 agreeing their allowances were "inadequate".

Paul Moseley/BBC Mike Stonard is sitting on a bench in Anglia Square. He's wearing a blue and white pinstripe shirt along with a light blue lanyard. He also is wearing glasses. — The proposals included a £3,000 pay rise for council leader Mike Stonard

The review had been carried out by an Independent Remuneration Panel, which consists of four non-council professionals.

Among the proposals put forward by the panel was to increase basic allowances by £1,950 and end a 'Special Responsibility Allowance' (SRA) payment of the same amount.

As almost every member already receives that SRA, the additional cost to the council would have been just under £8,000 more a year.

However, the panel also recommended increases to the allowances of the senior councillors in charge of the authority.

For example, the leader, currently Labour's Mike Stonard, would see a pay increase of almost 24% to £16,088.76.

The panel had compared current allowance rates to other nearby councils, with West Norfolk's leader the highest paid on £28,081 a year.

'Inappropriate'

Despite the panel's proposals, a cross-party recommendation saw the council defer the majority of the panel's suggestions, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

At Tuesday's full council meeting, Liberal Democrat leader James Wright said it would be "inappropriate" to push through the increases while the council's future remained uncertain.

Green members pointed out that basic allowances were 5% less in real terms than they were in 2016, but also ultimately chose to support the delay.

Instead, councillors agreed to a smaller package of changes.

The carer's allowance, which helps members cover childcare costs while attending duties, was also raised from £10 to £14.90 per hour.

Basic allowances will also continue to rise annually in line with wider council staff rates.