February 11, 2014 9.41 am This story is over 121 months old

Lincolnshire councillors to vote on allowance increases

Leader declines the increase: Lincolnshire county councillors will vote next week on independently recommended increases in their allowances.
The Council Chambers at Lincolnshire County Hall. Photo: File/The Lincolnite

Lincolnshire county councillors will vote next week on independently recommended increases in their allowances.

The Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) proposed rises to basic allowance paid to all councillors from £8,184 to £10,100 per year — an increase of 23.4%.

The leader of the council would be paid £32,000 per year in allowance — a rise of 56% from £20,448, while the deputy would get £21,000.

Members of the executive would receive £18,000 each under the proposal.

The allowances for opposition group leaders are also recommended to rise to £9,090, due to the responsibility of providing an effective opposition the majority group.

The changes will go before full council on Friday, February 21 — but Leader of the County Council, Conservative Councillor Martin Hill, has said he will not take an increase in his allowance.

Councillor Hill commented the IRP recommendations are “reasonable”. He said: “The changes would help bring our allowances closer to those elsewhere, and are appropriate given the responsibilities our members are expected to take on.

“However, I don’t think this is the right time for me to take such an increase.

Martin Hill held his seat in Folkingham Rural in the May 22013 local elections, but Conservatives were short of 3 seats for overall majority. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Martin Hill held his seat in Folkingham Rural in the May 22013 local elections, but Conservatives were short of 3 seats for overall majority. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

“Regardless of the decision taken at full council, I shall not be accepting the additional money. This is a personal decision, and I won’t be putting other councillors under pressure to follow suit,” Martin Hill added.

If the proposals are accepted by councillors, any member can choose to forego all or any of their allowance.

The IRP is required to review all councillors’ allowances every four years. The last recommended increases were not implemented.

Lincolnshire’s current basic allowance is £8,184, which currently ranks 27th of 31 county councils.

The recommend increase to £10,100 would raise the county to the 18th rank and be just under average of £10,152.

The IRP report noted that after the recommended increase, the leader’s total allowance would be less than other counties in the East Midlands.

It would also be less than Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner’s (£65,000) or a NHS Foundation Trust Chairman, typically £50-60,000.

The report also says that the increase would better reflect the significant responsibilities involved in steering a very large and complex organisation spending hundreds of millions of pounds.

Councillor Hill, however, defended the basic allowance increase: “Our members play a vital role in our communities, spending many hours a week working on behalf of our residents.

“And it’s appropriate that they receive some support so that people from all walks of life are able to take part in local politics.

“All councillors are different, so it should be up to each member to decide whether they take their full allowance or not,” he added.