Senior Shropshire councillors to get pay cut - but £5,000 more for leader

Allowances are being changed at the council to reflect the ‘importance of the work’ undertaken by councillors.

Details of the pay changes came as the council prepares to agree to a council tax rise for homeowners of almost six per cent.

An independent remuneration panel reviewed councillors’ allowances for the next financial year, and produced a report that will go to the next full council meeting meeting on Thursday.

The reports says the basic allowance all councillors receive should remain the same at £11,514, effectively a real-terms cut.

It also recommends that special allowances councillors receive on top of the basic allowance should change for certain roles.

A number of senior councillors will see their allowances cut by almost £3,000 each, if the move is agreed. The authority’s chairman, vice chairman, speaker and deputy speakers’ special allowances will be reduced from £8,655.75 to £5,757 – a reduction of £2,898.75. The report says the panel “acknowledged the importance of the work” undertaken, but “took the view that the demands of the role were out of alignment” with allowances.

Meanwhile council leader Peter Nutting’s allowance will be increased from £23,028 to £28,785 under the recommendation, meaning if it is approved he would receive £40,299 from all allowances next financial year. Leaders of other political groups would also be granted a rise and all councillors can also claim expenses on top of their basic pay.

The report says Councillor Nutting deserves more because his workload has “grown consistently” over time but there has been no corresponding increase in special responsibility allowances.”

"Additionally, when compared to leaders of other authorities, the special responsibility allowances of the leader of Shropshire Council lags somewhat behind that of its comparators,” it says.

The special allowances for the deputy leader and portfolio holders would remain the same at £14,392.50 and £11,514 respectively.

Deputy portfolio holders’ special allowances will be reduced from £5,757 to £2,878.50.

Opposition group leaders and chairman of area planning committees would have an increase of £2,878.50 from £5,757 to £8,635.50, while chairs of scrutiny committees would see a reduction of £5,757 from £11,514 to £5,757.

The vice chair of area planning committees and chairs of strategic licensing committees’ allowances would remain unchanged.

Allowances for chairs of licensing sub-committee and vice chairs of the strategic licensing committees’ allowances will be changed to zero.

The allowances for the chairman of audit committee, chairman of pensions committee and vice-chairman of pensions committee would remain unchanged.

Councillors are also expected to approve the 5.99 per cent rise in Shropshire’s council tax next Thursday. The increase, up from the rise of 3.99 per cent last year, is being considered to help the authority tackle its multi-million pound finance problems.

The rise outstrips the RPI measure of inflation, which is 3.1 per cent. It would represent £75.45 a year more for Band D properties, and £58.68 for Band B homes.

The increase would be made up of 2.99 per cent for the council, as permitted by government, added together with three per cent, to pay solely for the costs of providing adult social care.

Councillor Nutting said the ambition is for the tax rise for the following year, 2019/20, to come down to 3.99 per cent. The increase is set to be approved by Shropshire’s full council at its meeting on Thursday.