Agenda item

It was moved by Councillor O’Brien and seconded by Councillor Bernstein; on being put with all Members voting for and the Mayor abstaining; that, Council, approves:

 

1. That Council notes the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel dated May 2025 (Appendix 1)

 

2. Following consultation with the Group Leaders, the Mayor and the Standards Committee Council consider the recommendations 1 – 27.

 

1.    The IRP recommends that the Basic Allowance remains at £11,954, subject to indexation going forward.

 

2.    The IRP recommends that the SRA for the Leader remains at £35,862 for 2025/26.

 

3.    The IRP recommends that the SRA for the two Deputy Leaders is reset at £19,724, which is 55 per cent of the Leader’s recommended SRA (£35,862).

 

4.    The IRP recommends that the SRA for the six other Members of the Cabinet is maintained at £16,138, which has been set at 45% of the Leader's recommended SRA.

 

5.    The IRP recommends that the SRA for the nine Deputy Cabinet Members is maintained at £2,421, which is 15 per of the recommended SRA (£16,138) for the other Cabinet Members.

 

6.    The IRP recommends that the SRA for the Chairs of the six main Committees is maintained at £8,965, which is 25 per cent of the recommended SRA (£35,862) for the Leader.

 

7.    The IRP recommends that the SRA for Members who sit on Licensing Hearings Sub Committees is maintained as follows:

 

· Meetings over 4 hours: £106

· Meetings up to 4 hours: £53

 

8.    Furthermore, it recommends that the threshold for this SRA to be payable should be reset at over four Hearings attended in a year.

 

9.    Also, as per current practice this SRA should only be paid to Members who are not otherwise in receipt of an SRA.

 

10. The IRP recommends that the SRA for the Leader of the Main Opposition Group is maintained at £11,834, which is 33% of the Leader’s recommended SRA of (£35,862).

 

11. The IRP recommends that the SRA for the Deputy Leader of the Main Opposition Group is maintained at £4,734, which is 40 per cent of the recommended SRA for the Leader of the Main Opposition Group (£11,834). Furthermore the IRP recommends that the threshold for this SRA to be payable is reset at five Main Opposition Group Members.

 

12. The IRP recommends that the SRA for Leader(s) of Other Opposition Groups is maintained at £5,917, which has been set at 16.5 per cent of the recommended SRA for the Leader.

 

13. The IRP recommends that where there are two Main Opposition Groups of equal size their respective Leaders and Deputy Leaders are paid an SRA as follows:

 

                                                  i.    Main Opposition Group Leaders £8,876

                                                ii.    Main Opposition Group Deputy Leaders £3,255

 

14.  The IRP further recommends that the SRA for the Deputy Leaders of two Main Opposition Groups of equal size is only payable if each Main Opposition Group reaches the qualifying threshold of five Group Members.

 

15. The IRP recommends that the SRA paid to the Leader as a Member/Portfolio Holder on the GMCA under the 2011 Order is reset at £9,000.

 

16. The IRP recommends that the SRA for the Bury Member appointed to the GM Bee Network Committee is maintained at £3,000, which is one third of the recommended SRA (£9,000) for Leader appointed to the GMCA.

 

17. The IRP recommends that the SRA for the Bury Council Members appointed to the GM Waste and Recycling Committee is maintained at £1,500, which is 16.5 per cent of the recommended SRA (£9,000) for the Leader appointed to the GMCA.

 

18. The IRP is not making a recommendation for an SRA regarding the Council’s appointment to the GM Joint Health Scrutiny Committee.

 

19. The IRP recommends that the 1-SRA only rule is maintained with the exception of the additional SRAs paid under the 2011 GMCA Order.

 

20. The IRP recommends that the two Audit Committee Co-optees be paid a Co-optees’ Allowance that has two elements maintained as follows:

 

                                                  i.    Standard element £500 per year

                                                ii.    Meetings element

                                               iii.    Meetings over four hours £106 per meeting

                                               iv.    Meetings up to four hours £53 per meeting

21.  The IRP is not recommending any change to the Mayoral Civic Allowance (£18,567) and Deputy Mayor Civic Allowance (£4,642).

 

22. The IRP recommends that the remuneration of the Independent Persons is reset as follows:

 

                                                  i.    Standard element £1,000 per year

 

23.  The IRP recommends that the rates at which the DCA can be claimed are maintained as follows:

                                                  i.    Child care: maximum hourly rate paid at real living wage (Currently £12.60)

                                                ii.    Elderly/disabled care: maximum rate paid at the hourly rate charged By Bury Council Social Services (Persona) for a Home Help

 

24.  The IRP further recommends that the DCA is amended as follows:

                                                  i.    That the DCA may be claimed an hour before an approved duty starts and an hour after an approved duty ends

                                                ii.    That the annual cap on the total amount that can be claimed under each category is increased as follows: o Child care: £4,000 per year o Elderly/disabled care: £8,000 per year

25. The IRP recommends that the current terms and conditions and rates at which Members can claim travel and subsistence outwith the Council are maintained.

26. The IRP recommends that the following indices are applied to the allowances paid to Members and appointees of Bury Council:

                                                  i.    Basic Allowance, SRAs (including those paid in accordance with the GMCA 2011 Order), Co-optees’ Allowance, within Council Travel Allowance, Civic (Mayoral) Allowances and the remuneration for the Independent Persons:

                                                ii.    Indexed to the annual percentage salary increase for local government staff (at spinal column 43) as agreed each year by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services and applicable to the same year it applies to Officers but with an implementation date from the start of the municipal rather than financial year.

                                               iii.    Mileage Allowance (Outwith only):

                                               iv.    Members’ mileage allowances rates indexed to HMRC Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates.

                                                v.    Subsistence Allowances (Outwith only):

                                               vi.    Subsistence allowances should continue to be indexed to the same rates that are applicable to Officers.

                                              vii.    The Dependants' Carers' Allowance:

                                             viii.    Child care: maximum rate indexed to the real living wage

                                               ix.    Elderly/disabled care: maximum rate indexed to the hourly rate charged by Bury Council Social Services (Persona) for a Home Help

27. The IRP also recommends that indexation should run for four years (2025/26 – 2028/29), which is the maximum length of time permitted by the 2003 Regulations. For authority for indexation to be extended beyond the fourth anniversary of the establishment of the new scheme of allowances the Council is required to first seek advice from the IRP.

 

Instructs the Monitoring Officer to amend the Councils Members Allowance scheme in accordance with the decision of the Full Council meeting held on 25th May 2022