West Northamptonshire Council - Scheme of Members' Allowances
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WEST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNCIL
SCHEME OF MEMBERS’ ALLOWANCES
West Northamptonshire Council hereby gives notice of its Members’ Allowance Scheme for the year 1 July 2025 to 31 March 2026. The Scheme sets out the allowances its Members are entitled to receive for carrying out their responsibilities. The Scheme specifies the amount of entitlement by way of basic allowance (which is mandatory) and other allowances such as special responsibility, dependents’ carers’ and travelling and subsistence allowances (which are discretionary). The responsibilities specified in the Scheme and the amounts payable are set out below. At a meeting of the full Council held on 26 June 2025 Members had regard to the recommendations made by the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) for West Northamptonshire Council following the completion of its IRP review.
Copies of the Scheme and a record of the amount and nature of each payment made to individual Members are available at West Northamptonshire Council, One Angel Square, Angel Street, Northampton NN1 1ED for inspection by members of the public during normal office hours.
West Northamptonshire Council Scheme of Members’ Allowances
Allowances for the period 1 July 2025 to 31 March 2026
| Post Holder | Amount |
|---|---|
| Basic Allowance (All Members) | £16,053 |
| Leader | £40,132 |
| Deputy Leader | £28,093 |
| Cabinet Members | £24,079 |
| Lead Member for Children’s Services | £26,648 |
| Chair of the Council | £12,040 |
| Vice Chair of the Council | £8,026 |
| Chair of Strategic Planning Committee | £16,053 |
| Chair of Planning Committees | £16,053 |
| Chair of Planning Policy Committee* | £nil |
| Chair of Licensing Committee | £16,053 |
| Chair of Audit Committee | £16,053 |
| Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee | £16,053 |
| Chair of Pension Fund Committee* | £nil |
| Chair of Senior Appointments Committee* | £nil |
| Chair of Democracy and Standards Committee | £16,053 |
| Party Group Leaders: | Amount |
| Leader of the Largest Opposition Group | £12,842 |
| Leader of the second largest Opposition Group | £6,421 |
| Leader of the third largest Opposition Group | £3,211 |
| Leader of the fourth largest Opposition Group | £1,605 |
| Co-Optees and Independent Persons: | Amount |
| Co-opted members to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee with responsibility for education | £600 |
| Co-opted members of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel | £600 |
| Independent Members to the Audit and Governance Committee | £600 |
| Independent Persons to the Democracy and Standards Committee | £600 |
*Cabinet members will be appointed to these roles.
Limitations on Payment of Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA)
Members may not receive more than one SRA, and where a Member occupies multiple roles with an SRA the Member shall be entitled to receive the higher SRA from the roles they hold.
Indexation
Allowances are index linked to the Officers’ annual pay award to Spinal point 35 of the Officer’s pay scale. Adjustment to the Scheme of allowances by indexation is limited to a maximum period of four years, however Members may request the Independent Remuneration Panel to review allowances at an earlier time.
Other Allowances
Members may make claims for the following expenditure when undertaking official Council business.
Sustainable modes of transport are encouraged where possible. The use of a Member’s car, motorcycle or bicycle for approved duties (see part 5 for list of approved duties) will be paid at the same rate as the officers, i.e. the rate published from time to time by HM Revenue and Customs: www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/travel.htm.
The agreed rates as of June 2025 are as follows, including electric and hybrid models:
(a) Car – 45p per mile up to 10,000 and 25p per mile thereafter (including electrically powered);
(b) Passenger payments – up to 5p per mile per passenger (up to a maximum of four) to be claimed only for passengers who would otherwise be eligible for travelling allowance.
(c) Motorcycle – 24p per mile (including electrically powered);
(d) Bicycle – 20p per mile (including electrically assisted e.g., ebike);
(e) In relation to public transport (including rail and bus) – standard fare; and (f) Parking fees – actual cost
(g) Train travel – best value will be obtained by an officer, using, if possible, both comparison websites and advance fares.
Members are to discuss with Democratic Services, prior to booking a train ticket whether best value can be obtained by booking a fare in advance.
Approved duties
Subject to the provisions listed above, travel, subsistence and dependants’ and carers’ expenses incurred when undertaking duties matching the following descriptions may be claimed for:
(a) Attendance at meetings of Full Council and any committees, working groups established by committees or other bodies of the Council.
(b) Attendance at other meetings clearly related to their role as a councillor i.e. representation of a particular constituent or meetings relating to the discharge of council functions.
(c) Attendance at Council premises for the purposes of taking part in formal briefings, training sessions or attending pre-arranged meetings with senior officers to discuss the business of the Council.
(d) Representing the Council at external meetings, including parish and town council meetings within their ward and those of voluntary organisations or outside bodies where the Member.
(e) Attendance at events organised by the Council and/or where invitations have been issued by officers or councillors (including Chair’s events and other corporate events).
(f) Attendance at meetings/events where the Member is an official Council representative or requested by the
Leader or the relevant committee chair.
Travel and Subsistence expenses cannot be claimed for the following: (a) Attendance at political group meetings.
(b) Attendance at school governing body meetings as an LEA appointed governor.
(c) Constituency surgeries.
Subsistence
| Subsistence Allowance | Breakfast (more than 4 hours away before 11am) Lunch (business journeys entailing working away from normal place of work between 12 and 2pm) Dinner (can be claimed when required to work outside of usual rostered requirements and away from usual place of work after 8.30pm) |
£8.00 £12.00 £20.00 |
| Overnight expenses | Accommodation (if a member is required to stay overnight); to be determined by an officer, taking advantage, if possible, of both comparison websites and advance bookings |
Claims for Travel and Subsistence should be made in the month or month after they are incurred, and in all cases no later than three months of the date they are incurred.
Dependent Carers’ Allowance
The maximum rates at which dependent care may be claimed is:
(a) Where professional care is provided, subject to receipt of proof of payment, an hourly rate of £30 per hour will be paid.
(b) Where care is provided by friends or relatives an hourly rate of £15 per hour will be paid. There is no upper limit for a claim.
Claims for Dependent Care Allowance should be made in the month or month after they are incurred, and in all cases no later than three months of the date they are incurred.
Co-opted and Independent Members’ allowance
Please see table above.
Foregoing and donating allowances
Members may, if they wish, forego all or any part of their entitlement to BA or any SRA by giving notice in writing to the Monitoring Officer of West Northamptonshire Council.
Where a Member ceases to be a Member of West Northamptonshire Council, or ceases to occupy a role attracting an SRA, that the Member only receives pro-rata payment for the period that they are entitled to receive an allowance. The Authority may require that such part of any allowance.
Sarah Hall, Director Of Governance & Monitoring Officer
West Northamptonshire Council, One Angel Square, Angel Street, Northampton NN1 1ED 31 July 2025
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