An independent panel that annually reviews allowances paid to North Yorkshire councillors has proposed a rise linked to the rate of inflation.
The panel has proposed that the basic allowance for a member of North Yorkshire Council should be set at £17,964 for the upcoming financial year. Currently, the basic allowance is £17,340.
The panel has recommended the increase so that member allowances fall in line with the annual Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation to June 2025, which is 3.6 per cent.
The chair of North Yorkshire Council’s Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP), Philip Battle, said:
In reaching our conclusions, the panel took into consideration a several factors.
These included the impact of the way government calculates funding for local authorities and the adverse effect this will have on rural councils, as well as the current spending review, which is likely to lead to further cuts in local government funding.
All of this, along with the associated work to balance the budget and changes in the way in which services are delivered, have increased the workload of councillors and the panel feels this needs to be reflected in the level of allowances paid.
Members of North Yorkshire Council’s executive will consider the panel’s proposals on Tuesday next week (October 21), before the recommendations go to the full council for a decision on November 12.
If approved, the proposed 3.6 per cent increase in the annual basic allowance will result in an increased annual cost of £56,182, taking the total cost to £1.61 million for all 90 elected members.
The panel has proposed that special responsibility allowances (SRAs), paid to those councillors who take on additional duties and responsibilities, should also increase in line with inflation.
They also considered whether an alternative to increasing the basic allowance and special responsibility allowances by the rate of inflation could be to match the increase paid to council staff or other public sector pay increases.
However, Mr Battle said:
The view of the panel is that this is not appropriate, as the role of an elected member and that of a salaried employee of the council are neither similar nor comparable.
The leader of North Yorkshire Council, Cllr Carl Les said:
Encouraging people from all walks of life to become councillors is key to a fair and fully representative council. It is especially important in the current climate where new and innovative ways of thinking are required to help tackle the financial challenges we face.
The commitment made by members should be reasonably recompensed and I thank the members of the independent panel for carefully considering this very important issue.
As always, if approved by the council, it is then up to individual members to decide to take all, some or none of the allowances agreed.
