Council Constitution 19 Part 6 - Members’ Allowance Scheme

Basic Allowance

1. Basic Allowance is intended to recognise the time devoted by Councillors to their work, including approved duties and such inevitable calls on their time as meetings with constituents, political group and Council meetings. It is also to cover the costs of phone calls and other incidental costs for which no other provision is made.
2. The Basic Allowance for each member will be £13,900.00 per annum from 8th May 2023.
3. When the term of office of a Member or Special Responsibility begins or ends otherwise than at the beginning or end of a financial year, entitlement shall be to payment of such part of the basic allowance as is proportionate to the number of days served as a Member in that year.

Special Responsibility Allowance

1. For each financial year a Special Responsibility Allowance shall be paid to those Councillors who hold the special responsibilities specified below in relation to the work of the Council.
2. The Council will pay the following annual amounts for Special Responsibilities:
   Leader of Council: £27,800.00
   Executive Members: £13,900.00
   Opposition Group Leaders: £4,633.33 per group member (based on a per group figure of 1/26th of the Basic Allowance x by no in Group)
   Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee: £6,950.00
   Chairs of Regulatory Panels, Committees and Sub-committees: £6,950.00
   Chairs of Scrutiny Panels, Committees and Commissions: £3,475.00
3. Members are entitled to claim one Special Responsibility Allowance only.
4. Special Responsibility Allowances are paid pro rata from the date the appointment is made to the date the appointment ceases inclusive.
5. At least one Special Responsibility Allowance shall be paid to a person who is not a member of the controlling group or the Executive.
6. Where the term of office of a Member begins or ends otherwise than at the beginning or end of a year, entitlement shall be to payment of such part of the special responsibility allowance as is proportionate to the number of days served as a Member in that year.
7. Where a special responsibility is shared between more than one Member over the course of a financial year, each Member shall be entitled to a pro rata payment equivalent to actual number of days served in undertaking that special responsibility.

Co-optees’ Allowance

1. An allowance shall be payable to any person co-opted as a Member of any Committee or Panel which usually meets at least four times in any financial year in respect of their attendance at that Committee or Panel or any conference approved by that Committee or Panel.
2. The amount of co-optee allowance shall be £719.00 per annum.
3. Where the term of office of a Member begins or ends otherwise than at the beginning or end of a year, entitlement shall be to payment of such part of the co-optees’ allowance as is proportionate to the number of days served as a Member in that year

Travel and Subsistence Allowances

1. Councillor and non-Councillor Members are entitled to receive payment of travelling and subsistence allowance where expenditure has been necessarily incurred on travelling inside or outside of the UK or on subsistence for the purposes of performing approved duties, including:
   
   1. Civic duties undertaken by the Lord Mayor and Sheriff.
   2. Attendance at a meeting of the Council or of any of its Executive, Committees, Panels, Briefings or Working Parties or such other duties as are approved by the Council under this paragraph.
   3. Site visits duly authorised by the meetings of the Executive, Council, Committees or Panels.
   4. Attendance at conferences duly authorised by meetings of the Executive, Council, Committees or Delegated Powers.
   5. Attendance at joint meetings with other local authorities authorised by meetings of the Executive, Council, Committees and Panels.
   6. Meetings, including public meetings, by prior arrangement with or at the request of Council officers on Council business.
   7. Attendance at one Group meeting before each Council Meeting or Executive Meeting, limited to a claim for up to four hours.
   8. Meetings with residents and other associations or such other duties as are approved by the Council under this paragraph.
   9. Meetings of bodies where appointments of representatives are made directly by the Council (including those made by the Executive).
2. If the duty or work you are doing for the Council is not on the above list, Members need to ensure such a duty or work approved by the relevant Committee before claiming any travel and subsistence allowance.
3. Travel Allowance Rates
   
   1. Allowances for travel are set at the same rate as that for Southampton City Council employees.
   2. Where a Member uses a private car, the mileage rate shall not exceed 45p per mile.
   3. All claims for travel allowances for mileage must be accompanied by an appropriate VAT receipt for fuel.
   4. For journeys exceeding 100 miles (excluding London), mileage will be paid only up to the rate of the standard class rail fare.
   5. The rate for motorcycles shall not exceed 24p per mile.
   6. The rate for pedal cycles shall not exceed 37.1p per mile.
   7. The rate of travel by taxi shall not exceed:
      
      • in cases of urgency or where no public transport is reasonably available; the amount of the actual fare and any reasonable gratuity paid; and
      • in any other case, the amount of the fare for travel by appropriate public transport.
        In order to claim taxi fares, receipts will be required.
   8. Bus and rail fares, tolls or ferry charges and parking fees will be reimbursed at actual cost.
   9. Air Travel must be booked through the City Council (Member Services) having been authorised by the relevant Service Director/Head of Service and will be paid direct from divisional budgets.
4. Subsistence Allowance Rates
   
   1. Subsistence allowance rates are set at the same rate as that for Southampton City Council employees.
   2. Members may claim the following maximum subsistence allowances, on a meals basis:
      Breakfast allowance (more than 4 hours away from normal Place of residence, before 11:00 am): £6.00
      Lunch allowance (more than 4 hours away from normal place of residence, including lunchtime between 12 noon and 2:00 pm): £8.20
      Tea allowance (more than 4 hours away from normal place of residence, including the period 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm): £3.60
      Evening allowance (more than 4 hours away from the normal place of residence ending after 7:00 pm): £10.50
   3. Claims should be reduced by an appropriate amount in respect of any meal provided free of charge.
   4. Claims will be paid on production of a valid receipt. Where the amount on the receipt is less than the rates set out above, the amount paid will not exceed the amount on the receipt.

Dependents’ Carers’ Allowances

Members who are responsible for providing care to children / dependent relatives qualify for a Dependant Carers’ Allowance to assist with financial loss incurred in paying for care of the child / dependant relative whilst attending the approved duties specified at 3(a) above.

1. The allowance will cover paid care for the children/dependant relative who live with the claimant.
2. The paid carer cannot be a member of the immediate family or household.
3. The allowance will be reimbursed at the cost for both childcare and more specialist care.
4. Claims for child care and more specialist care should be made on the Members’ (Dependent Carers) Allowances form. Payment will only be made on production of a completed and signed form together with an invoice or receipt from the paid carer.
5. The allowance should also have no daily or monthly maximum claim when undertaking Approved Councillor Duties.
6. Members are encouraged to use a registered childminder / carer where practicable. 

Annual Adjustment of Allowances

1. This scheme of allowances will come into operation on 8th May 2023
2. Basic and Special Responsibility Allowances are based on the Living Wage and will be adjusted in line with changes to the Living Wage in accordance with the following scale:
   Basic Allowance: Equivalent to 27 hour week
   Leader of the Council SRA: Equivalent to 2 x Basic Allowance
   Cabinet Member SRA: Equivalent to 1 x Basic Allowance
   Opposition Group Leader SRA: Based on a per Group member figure 1/26th of the Basic Allowance
   Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee: Equivalent to 0.5 x Basic Allowance
   Chair of Regulatory Panel, Committee or Sub-committee: Equivalent to 0.5 x Basic Allowance
   Chair of Scrutiny Panel, Committee or Commission: Equivalent to 0.25 x Basic Allowance
   Co-opted member: Link to NJC pay award for Local Government employees
3. The travel, subsistence and carer rates will be adjusted in line with the rate for Southampton City Council employees.
4. Where an allowance has been paid to a Member in respect of any period of service and they:
   
   1. are suspended for that period;
   2. cease to be a Member of the Authority;
   3. are in any other way not entitled to receive an allowance in respect of that period such part of the allowance as relates to that period shall be repaid to the Authority.
5. A member may elect to forgo an allowance or any part of an allowance by giving notice of such intention in writing to the Director of Governance, Legal and HR.

Pensions

There is currently no pension scheme for Members.

Claims and Payments

Claim forms are available on the Council’s Intranet site and from Democratic Services. Claim forms should be returned to the Team Leader: Members’ Services, who will obtain the necessary authorisation for payment. It is important that claim forms are fully completed and signed to avoid delay.

1. Councillors and co-optees should submit claim forms before the 1st of each month (or nearest possible date when the 1st falls on a weekend). This gives time for claims from Councillors to be authorised and payment to be made through the Payroll Group on the 23rd of that month. Travel and Subsistence, Co-optees Allowance and Dependant Carers Allowance for Members will be paid through the Payroll Group in the same manner as Basic and Special Responsibility Allowances. Payments to Co-optees (or other Members in exceptional circumstances only) may be made by cheque, generally within 34 weeks of the claim form being received.
2. All claims must be made within three months of the date of the relevant meeting/s.

Other entitlements

1. Rail warrants can be obtained for Members on request for Approved Duties. It is advisable to allow three working days for these to be issued and despatched.

LGA Policy

The Council adopted the LGA Policy on Parental Leave on 18th October 2018. The LGA Policy can be found here.