Agenda item

The Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) met recently to consider whether a Special Responsibility Allowance should be payable to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Joint Planning Committee.  The report summarises the discussions of the Panel and sets out their recommendation.

Recommendation

The Executive is asked to recommend to the Council that the Scheme of Members’ Allowances for 2015/16 onwards be amended to include provision for the payment of a Special Responsibility Allowance to the Chairman (£3,100) and the Vice-Chairman (£1,550) of the Joint Planning Committee.

The Executive has agreed to RECOMMEND to the COUNCIL that the Scheme of Members’ Allowances for 2015/16 onwards be amended to include provision for the payment of a Special Responsibility Allowance to the Chairman (£3,100) and the Vice-Chairman (£1,550) of the Joint Planning Committee.

[This item is recommended to the Council for approval and is not subject to the call-in procedure]

[Reason: to consider the discussion and findings of the Independent Remuneration Panel]

56.1    The Independent Remuneration Panel last reviewed the Council’s Scheme of Members’ Allowances in 2011 and the Council meeting on 21 February 2012 agreed to adopt the recommendations, for implementation within the remaining three years of the Council.  These increases have now been implemented.

56.2    Since the last review, there has been a steady increase in the workload of the Joint Planning Committee with a continuing rise in the number of meetings, particularly since the start of the Council year 2014/2015, see Annexe 3.  At the time of the last review, the Joint Planning Committee met very infrequently and it was agreed that no Special Responsibility Allowance should be payable to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman because the majority of the planning application workload was being dealt with at the Area Planning Committees.

56.3    An additional criteria for which planning applications are referred to the Joint Planning Committee has impacted on the number of applications coming forward since the start of 2014/2015, as follows

                        “to review all housing scheme which propose a net increase of more than 25 dwellings, where the recommendation is for permission to be granted”.

56.4    The Council’s practice has been to consider one planning application at each Joint Planning Committee meeting, largely because of the likely contentious and sensitive nature of the application proposals and the high level of public interest in it, often resulting in a large attendance of members of the public and the need to manage this effectively.

56.5    As background information, the Independent Remuneration Panel was provided with a copy of their last report and recommendations from 2011, the members’ allowances scheme from 2011/2012, the current members’ allowances scheme for 2015/2016 and the statistics around the increasing number of Joint Planning Committee meetings.  The Panel had now been asked to look solely at the issue of whether a special responsibility allowance for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Joint Planning Committee should be included within the Members’ Allowances Scheme.  The current special responsibility allowances payable are attached as Annexe 4.

56.6    The Panel recognised that the workload for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee had increased dramatically since they last carried out their review of the scheme, particularly since each meeting necessitated attendance at a Chairman’s briefing and a site visit in advance.  The Panel was particularly mindful of the responsibility associated with managing the Joint Planning Committee meetings because of the often politically contentious nature of the applications being considered, and the resulting scale, quantity and quality of the leadership required.

56.7    The Panel reiterated a principle set out in their last report that special responsibility allowances should be used to recognise the significant additional responsibilities which attach to some roles and not just the extra time required.  The Panel felt that this criteria was met in this instance because of the nature of the applications being considered at the Committee.  It also wished to ensure that the level of allowances remained sufficient so as not to discourage or deter existing councillors from fulfilling their roles and balanced this alongside the need for the allowance system to remain as simple as possible.

56.8    To this end, for ease of understanding to a member of the public looking at the scheme, the Panel recommended that the level of allowances should be consistent for the Area Planning Committees and the Joint Planning Committee.

56.9    Waverley’s budget includes £353,430 for members’ basic and special responsibility allowances.  These proposals total an increase of £4,650.  Regulation 10(6) of the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations allows for an amendment to the scheme to apply with effect from the beginning of the year in which the amendment is made.  The Council’s Members’ Allowances Scheme includes a restriction that members will only be entitled to the basic allowance plus one special responsibility allowance.

56.10  For 2015/2016, the Chairman of the Joint Planning Committee is also the Chairman of the Southern/Western Area Planning Committees and therefore only entitled to one special responsibility allowance.  The financial implications for 2015/2016 only relate to the additional payment for a special responsibility allowance to the Vice-Chairman of the Committee who is not currently entitled to any other special responsibility allowances.  This equates to £1,550 but may not be the case in future years.  The additional budget required for 2015/2016 will be met from the underspend resulting from the reduction in size of the Executive from 10 to 9 members for the remainder of the year, thereby reducing the amount of special responsibility allowances payable to portfolio holders.

56.11  The Executive thanked the IRP for its findings and now

RECOMMENDS that

22.       the Scheme of Members’ Allowances for 2015/16 onwards be amended to include provision for the payment of a Special Responsibility Allowance to the Chairman (£3,100) and the Vice-Chairman (£1,550) of the Joint Planning Committee.

 [Reason: to consider the discussion and findings of the Independent Remuneration Panel]