‘No easy answer’ to determining salaries for politicians

There is “no easy answer” to determine how much elected representatives should be paid, MLAs have been told.

It comes as MLAs consider a proposal for a new independent board to determine salaries for Northern Ireland Assembly members.

The Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill was introduced in the Assembly earlier this year by the Assembly Commission.

It proposes the establishment of an independent Remuneration Board to determine MLA salaries and pensions, to follow the previous Independent Financial Review Panel which has been defunct for a number of years.

An ad hoc committee has been set up at Stormont to consider the Bill following concern expressed by some MLAs, who have claimed it is an attempt ensure salaries are increased.

Currently, the basic salary for an MLA is £51,500, but this can rise with position including chairing some committees or serving as a minister, with the First and deputy First Ministers receiving a salary of £123,500.

A report alongside the Bill showed MLA salaries are lower than those received by Members of the Scottish Parliament (£72,196), Assembly Members at the Welsh Assembly (£72,057) and members of the Irish Parliament (113,679 euro/£94,537).

Richard Lloyd, chair of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority – which sets pay and pensions for MPs, said pay for public representatives is “a matter quite understandably of considerable public interest”.

He told MLAs on the committee there is “no easy answer to the question as to what elected representatives should be paid”.

He said they take into account a range of factors, but described “unique roles” which are hard to compare, adding “there is no single simple approach that had stood the test of time in terms of the level of pay”.

Stressing the importance of fairness, he said: “For example, enabling people from all backgrounds without independent wealth to become parliamentarians, transparency, explicability and the independence of the decision making body have all been important components of our work”.

Mr Lloyd also made the point that at a time when trust in Parliament is low, and “democracy itself is increasingly under threat around the world”, he said “it is incumbent on bodies like IPSA to communicate to the public in very clear terms why it’s necessary to support the parliamentary work of members and how we decide their pay”.

He added: “We know when we publish our proposal and that goes public, we will get a very strong reaction from the media and the public, I can summarise that reaction as often being, either pay them nothing or pay them much more. I think we’re ending somewhere in between those two.

“But I think understanding the pressures on MPs, kinds of roles they are playing, the degree to which remuneration affects people’s decision to stand in the first place, and also how we can ensure that we are reflecting the experiences of citizens in an appropriate way, setting an appropriate level, those things we consult on informally and engage with people on informally throughout the year, in addition to our statutory consultation process.”

Committee chair Philip Brett told members that it will be necessary to seek a short extension to the committee stage of the Bill, which is due to end on April 1.

He said they intend to move forward with the clause by clause consideration of the Bill later this month.