Councillors in Cannock Chase agree allowance freeze

The funding councillors receive to carry out their roles as elected members will remain at the current level for the next three years. The freeze was agreed at this month’s full council meeting and the decision was made just a week after it was revealed MPs would get a 2.7 per cent pay rise from April – an extra £2,212 a year.

In Cannock Chase district, councillors are set to receive a £5,706 basic allowance for the year from April.

There are also civic allowances paid to the chairman and vice chairman of the council and special responsibility allowances available for members with additional roles on the council, such as chairing committees. These payments range from up to £1,282 for a shadow cabinet member to £19,403 for the council leader.

Carers’ Allowance will continue to be paid at National Living Wage rates to councillors with a caring responsibility.

But a £400 annual “communications allowance” – previously available to help fund IT costs such as broadband and printing – will be axed from April after it was agreed to issue each member with a laptop or tablet. The proposal was first put forward by the council’s Conservative group when the previous Labour administration was in power.

An independent remuneration panel met at the start of 2022 to consider the members’ allowances scheme, which will cover the next three years. The panel recommended that the basic, special responsibility and civic allowances be index-linked to changes in officers’ pay for each year of the revised scheme.

A report from the panel said: “In deciding whether to make any change to the scheme, we noted that the basic, special responsibility and civic allowances had been frozen for the 2021/22 financial year, but were also mindful of wider economic pressures, particularly with recent increases in inflation and interest rates.

“We also looked at the feedback provided by members as part of the survey conducted in autumn 2021. This showed that in all cases, members were primarily in favour of allowances being frozen at current rates or index linked to officers’ pay.

“Approximately a fifth of respondents were in favour of allowances being decreased from the current level.”

How much can Cannock Chase Council members claim in allowances during 2022/23?

• Basic allowance: £5,706

• Special responsibility allowances

• Shadow Cabinet members: £1,282

• Chairman of Audit & Governance Committee: £1,982

• Chairman of Licensing & Public Protection Committee: £1,982

• Chairmen of Scrutiny Committees: £2,138

• Chairman of Planning Control Committee: £4,619

• Leader of the Opposition: £7,260

• Cabinet members: £8,578

• Deputy Leader of the Council: £9,903

• Leader of the Council: £19,403

• Civic allowances

• Vice-Chairman of the Council: £3,767

• Chairman of the Council: £9,559