Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is planning to increase its share of the Council Tax – by a referendum dodging 1.9%. Where is the money going? One item is a sharp increase in the Special Responsibility Allowance for the council leader, Cllr David Jukes. Sometimes when this sort of thing happens there is the that it […]
Councillors on Labour-run Norwich City Council have voted through an 11% increase in allowances – including a 54% increase for the leader Cllr Brenda Arthur with her special responsibility allowance increasing to £10,000. Opposition Green Party councillors backed the increase saying it represented "terrific value for money." Remember that Council Taxpayers in Norwich also pay […]
The Local Government Chronicle reports (£) that Labour council leaders are demanding a Judicial Review to defend subsidied councillor pensions. It says that the Local Government Association Labour group leader Cllr David Sparks said it was “extremely important that we do not just roll over on this [pension] issue” and suggested a legal challenge, adding: […]
The Labour MP Clive Betts, who is "Chair" of the Communities and Local Government Committee, has taken to the airwaves today demanding an increase in councillor allowances. This reflects a report from his committee. As the blunt speaking folk of Sheffield might put it: "What planet is he on?" We could have an interesting debate […]
On September 11th 2001 Jo Moore, Special Adviser to Stephen Byers, the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Region, sent the following email: "It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury. Councillors expenses?" The bad news, which was press released the next day, was that […]
An interesting report on the BBC says: Most people are well-acquainted with the concept of BYOB (bring your own bottle). But could the acronym BYOD (bring you own device) be about to revolutionise the way councils and other public bodies operate? The issue doesn't seem to be councils paying for staff to have mobile phone […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter A new survey by the TaxPayers' Alliance reveals big differences between the level of basic allowance received by different councillors. Councillors representing the Scottish Borders, for example, receive £16,932 per year while those in Tory South Ribble receive just £1,500. According to this morning's Today programme 80% of allowances […]
More great work from the Taxpayers Alliance. There is news (£) in The Times this morning on their research into spending by councils in the north east on flights. Sunderland City Council spent more than £210,000 on flights from 2009 to 2012, the biggest spender in the north east. £62,000 was devoted to their town […]
A story in the Daily Telegraph this morning that should motivate armchair auditors. They have spotted that Katherine Kerswell was paid £589,000 by Kent County Council in the last financial year. It should be noted that £420,000 of this was redundancy pay – she had been on a four year contract and it was less […]
Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles is encouraging residents to check the amount their local councillors are being paid in allowances. Eric says: "The public have every right to know how their taxes are being spent and high levels of scrutiny on councillor expenses can only be a good thing. "Financial disclosure has been […]
As Labour take charge at Southampton City Council their new leader Cllr Richard Williams has announced an early change: I want to empower all the portfolio holders to work in their area- I want it to be decentralised. That team could include more Cabinet members drawing the additional £11,000 allowance than the previous six Conservatives. […]
A new survey by the Taxpayers Alliance reports that there were 3,097 council staff who earned over £100,000 in 2010-11. This was up 13% on 2009-10. The report is timed to increase accountability as many voters go to the polls next week. For instance Labour's chances of wommomg in Glasgow will not be helped by […]
No doubt much money is wasted on management consultants in both local and central government – although this is an area where there is rather more rigour than under the Labour Government. While they grew rich the consultants would often find it frustrating – all the time wasting meetings, the reports that nobody read, the […]
In many cases councils have been saving money sharing chief executives, persuading their chief executive to take a pay cut or where a chief executive has retired ensuring their successor is paid less. Over average the new appointments are paid 19% less than their predecessors But the Daily Mail highlights some examples where this has […]
Cllr. Susan Hall, the Leader of the Conservative opposition on Harrow Council, on her council's failure to produce an intelligible pay policy In North Korea, voters who wish to vote against an approved candidate do as such by crossing their name off the ballot paper. They have to do this in a booth where their […]