District of Chichester - Scheme of Allowances for Members

Chichester District Council
Scheme of Allowances for Members

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Council meeting 7 March 2023 approved a revised scheme for the payment of allowances to councillors and co-opted members. In revising the scheme the Council complied with its duties under regulation 19 of the Local Authorities (Members Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 (as amended) to have regard to the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) and accepted most of the IRP’S recommendations. The revised scheme is effective for a period of four years and will be reviewed by the Independent Remuneration Panel and the Council during that period. The scheme has not since been amended, except that rates for travelling and subsistence have been varied in accordance with rates paid to staff.
The main features of the scheme and the amounts payable from 1 April 2023 are set out below.
1. A Basic Allowance of £5,460 per annum is paid to each councillor.
2. The following Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA) are paid per annum in addition to the basic allowance:-
(a) Chair of the Council - £5,000
(b) Leader - £15,500
(c) Deputy Leader - £8,150
(d) Leader of the Opposition - £4,750
(e) Member of the Cabinet - £7,400
(f) Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee - £5,050
(g) Chair of the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee - £4,800
(h) Chair of the Planning Committee - £6,350
(i) Chair of the Alcohol and Entertainment Committee and the General Licensing Committee - £4,300
(j) Chair of the Standards Committee - £500
(k) £100 per opposition member be paid to each group leader (a group is two or more members)
(l) Co-opted members of panels, members of the Independent Remuneration Panel and Independent Persons to be paid an allowance of £60 a meeting (Independent Persons £750 per annum)
Councillors are entitled to receive only one Special Responsibility Allowance at a time.
If the Chair of the Council or of a committee is absent for a continuous period of more than two months their SRA will be paid to the Vice Chair, if they cover the Chair’s responsibilities during that period.
3. The amount of the Dependants' Carers' Allowance shall be £18.20 per hour and the Child Care Allowance shall be £10 per hour. This assists councillors to pay for a carer to look after their children or another dependent relative so that they can attend Council, committee or panel meetings.
4. The following travelling and subsistence allowances are paid to councillors and co-opted members in respect of journeys on Council business such as attendance at meetings, conferences, and training seminars. A full list is set out in the scheme. The rates for travelling and subsistence are consistent with the rates approved for staff.
Travelling
(i)
Travel to seminars/conferences and training courses outside of the district
Cost of standard class rail fare; by own car only in exceptional circumstances at 34p per mile
(ii)
Travel to meetings and other events by own car (up to a maximum of 8,500 per annum)
46.9p per mile, plus 5p per mile for cars with CO2 emissions of less than 135g/km

(iii)
Car parking – at cost
(iv)
Travel by train – standard class rail fare
(v)
Taxi – if urgent and necessary – at cost
(vi)
Bus – at cost
(vii)
Motorcycle – 24p per mile
(viii)
Cycles – 20p per mile
(ix)
Member drives other member(s) or officer(s) on official duties – extra 5p per mile per passenger
Subsistence
(i) Breakfast - £10.20 (where work/travel has started absence less than 24 hours, leaving home before 7.00am)
(ii) Lunch - £13.98 (leaving before 11.00am and not returning until after 3.00pm)
(iii) Tea* - £5.56 (unable to arrive home before 6.30pm)
(iv) Evening Meal* - £16.90 (unable to arrive home before 8.30pm)
(v) Out of pocket expenses for residential courses – £7.90 per night or £31.58 per week
*If an overnight stay is necessary and not included in the course fee, normally only bed, breakfast and overnight meal are reimbursed (at a rate of up to £26.23 for an evening meal).
*Tea and evening meal cannot be claimed on the same day.
5. The Basic and Special Responsibility Allowances paid to councillors are not pensionable.
6. A councillor may elect to forgo all or any part of their allowance.
A copy of the scheme may be inspected at the Council’s office at East Pallant House, East Pallant, Chichester. The scheme may also be viewed in The Constitution. Records of payments are available for inspection at the Council’s office at East Pallant House by prior arrangement.
Diane Shepherd, Chief Executive, Chichester District Council
Dated: 6 June 2024
This notice is published in accordance with regulation 16 of the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 as amended.