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Councillor Allowances & Expenses

MEMBERS’ ALLOWANCE

Under the Local Authorities (Members allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 Part 5 Cllrs may receive annually an allowance for undertaking the role and Duties of a Parish (Town) Cllr. Recommendations for a Members Allowances Scheme is undertaken by the relevant Local Authority (in this case East Cambridgeshire District Council) by establishing an Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) whose function is to give advice and make recommendations on its Scheme of Allowances and the £ amounts to be paid to Cllrs within its District.

In November 2017 East Cambridgeshire District Council convened an IRP Panel which as part of its function considered allowance to be paid to town and parish Cllrs. The report and recommendations made concerning Parish and Town Councils is available here and these matters were considered by Soham Town Council on 8th May 2017.

By majority Soham Town Council approved at this meeting all elected town Cllrs many, at their sole discretion, claim annually an allowance of up to £400 (in the case of the member elected as Chairperson for the civic year, £500).

In update the matter of remuneration (allowances) was reconsidered after and IRP review  in 2019 by the District Council with both reports being considered at the following town council 9th December 2019 . In Excerpt Under 153/19 i)

153 /19 i)           APPROVED BY MAJORITY to follow IRP’s previous recommendations for District Cllrs and consistent with the IRP performed in 2017 to increase current annual allowance of £500 by 24% to £620 for the town council Chairman, Vice Chairman and Chairman of Standing Committees

APPROVED BY MAJORITY an increase in annual allowance from current £400 to £500 for all other elected Cllrs[1]  eligible to receive such and for these payments to remain under each members’ discretion to take.

APPROVED BY MAJORITY an annual review to be performed by Finance & Policy related to RPI or some other inflationary measure for recommendation to full council on the matter of (annual) councillor allowances.

Soham Town Cllrs may claim the basic allowance in a(ny) financial year to enable them to undertake their roles within the community which include:

  • Being accessible, available and to assist with resident issues
  • Representing the interests of Soham residents by being able to make visits, spend time listening to concerns and where necessary acting in advocacy and support

The Cllr allowance SHOULD NOT PROVIDED OR MAY BE CLAIMED solely for attending council or committee meetings as it is anticipated that Soham Town Cllrs undertake these activities as part of their agreement (Declaration of Acceptance of Office) to become an elected representative in their community.

EXPENSES (DISBURSEMENTS)

Soham Town Cllrs have been able to claim for travel expenses whilst on council business that takes them outside the town (parish) boundary. At its meeting in March 2017 it was approved by majority that all reasonable expenses or direct disbursements should be reimbursed to any town Cllr who wishes to claim for expenses that occur as consequence of their work in the community. Town Cllrs expenses must be claimed in accordance with the provisions set out in the IRP (HMRC mileage rates to be set as per the current financial years valuations) and by following the processes below:

  1. All claimed submitted to the Clerk’ s Office must be reviewed by the Appointed Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) against the approved ensuring claims are for approved duties and receipts are provided for all expenses including fuel VAT receipts where mileage is claimed
  2. Any resulting queries are referred back to the individual member for further clarification or information
  3. Providing claims are submitted n accordance with the allowance scheme those claimed are provided to the Chairman for secondary approval
  4. The claims may be subject to further scrutiny by the full council but where not the payment will be made

PUBLIC NOTICE

SOHAM TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS ALLOWANCES SCHEME

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT in accordance and pursuant to  Regulation 16 of the Local Authorities (Members Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003, Soham Town Council has amended its Scheme of allowances to be paid to Soham Town Councillors previously made 8th May 2017 as set out above with effect of 9th December 2019 and that this is in accordance with the recommendations made by the East Cambridgeshire District Council’s  Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP)’s recommendations undertaken in 2017 as reviewed in 2019

                                                                                                                                                Proper Officer

                                                                                                                                                Dated 9th December 2019

[i]

[1] Elected whether contested or unopposed at Local Elections, not applicable to co-opted Cllrs

[i] WHAT DOES SOHAM TOWN CLLR ALLOWANCE COST TO THE RATEPAYER?

In 2021-22 A Soham resident living in a Band D house pays  £111.33  of the domestic rates charged by the Billing Authority to Soham Town Council (slightly more and less for a higher or lower Banded house respectively). From £111.33 your elected town Cllrs are entitled to claim 16.75p (Chairman) and 13.5p ( ordinary elected members) equating to 0.15% and 0.12% of its entire precept amount. It should be noted that under Regulation 32 of the Act elected members may elect to forego this entitlement and not claim their annual allowance.

Any allowance paid to a town Cllr is published on the town councils website and declared as part of its annual financial statement to its Auditors.