Shropshire fire authority allowances could increase
Members of Shropshire's fire authority could see their allowances rise by 14 per cent, if they agree to proposals from an independent panel.
The payment structure for Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Authority (SWFRA) has not been reviewed since 2009, and has only gone up by less than one per cent since then to its current £2,884 basic level.
The Independent Remuneration Panel recommends this rises to £3,290, and says this “realistically reflects the increase in responsibility”, especially since the number of seats on the authority went down from 17 to 15 and the number of committees from three to two.
A report by Chief Fire Officer Rod Hammerton and his deputy, Dave Myers, points out that the overall allowance budget would rise just over one per cent, from £70,854 to £71,640, if members – who are elected members of the county’s two councils – accept the proposed allowances.
“There has been no review of the fire authority’s member allowances since 2016, and that review itself was only an endorsement of the previous report in 2009-10,” they write.
“Members then agreed not to take any increases due to the financial climate at the time, beyond the annual National Joint Council pay rise increases.
“These have equated to less than one per cent per year.”
Reduction
The authors write that fire authorities are legally required to take into account the decisions made by independent remuneration panels for the local authorities within its footprint. Shropshire Council reviewed its allowances in 2016 and Telford and Wrekin did so in 2009 and last year.
“The structure of SWFRA has recently changed, with the overall number of members dropping, a reduction in the number of committees and an increase in delegated responsibilities,” Officer Hammerton and Officer Myers write.
The decreases were “not dramatic” but left remaining members with “greater responsibility”, and the Independent Remuneration Panel recommendations “realistically reflect” this, they add.
The proposals, which the fire authority is free to accept or reject, would see the new basic allowance set at £3,290. The chairman of the authority would receive a “special responsibility allowance” of £12,000, while the vice-chairman would receive half that. The chairmen of the two sub-committees would receive an SRA of £2,000, and the main opposition spokesman’s allowance would be £3,290.
The fire authority will discuss the proposals at the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service headquarters in Shrewsbury on Wednesday, February 12.
It will also decide whether to review its travel and subsistence allowances.
The report notes that “members have not requested any increase since 2009.
