Row Breaks Out over Councillors' Allowances

2.11.56pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 29th Oct 2003

Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, Leader of the Liberal Democrat will not be supporting the scheme proposed for councillors' allowances at today's full council meeting.

Councillor Sunderland said,

"Any scheme of expenses should reflect the payment of costs incurred not make a best guess on what everyone might spend. This approach leaves some people out of pocket and overcompensates others. Less active councillors are rewarded and those with a high casework load are penalised. Councillors who fit their casework around a working life have to rely on the goodwill of their employers by using their work facilities for Council business."

"The amount available to spend it determined entirely by a councillors personal circumstances. Members claiming benefit have their allowances counted as income even though some is intended to cover necessary expenses like phone bills. In other cases the families of members end up covering the additional cost."

"No estimate has been made of the costs now being incurred by the Council as members move away from the council mobile phone contractor. Many calls from the Council to Councillors on mobile phones are now running at up to 50p per minute - a significant leap from the 4p in the councils contract."

"Finally a very large chunk of the money is just returned to the treasury because members' allowances are subject to tax and national insurance. If the council refunded actual costs tax and national insurance would not be paid. Any plan that takes the Council purchasing power of over £100,000 plus the employers NI contribution of 11% and reduces it to less that fifty thousand is a nonsense."