Freeze on allowances agreed by Mid Sussex district councillors

At a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (December 9) they approved a report from the Independent Remuneration Panel which considered workloads, inflation and the council’s financial position before making its recommendations.

In 2021/22, the basic allowance for all councillors will stay at £5,100, with leader Jonathan Ash-Edwards receiving £20,596, deputy leader Judy Llewellyn-Burke receiving £11,000 and cabinet members receiving £8,500.

The only changes proposed and agreed were for childcare allowances to rise from £9 per hour to £9.50 per hour and for £750 to be added to the Standards Committee allowance as a third independent person had been appointed in 2020.

Mr Ash-Edwards said: “Given the financial outlook for this council and the economic circumstances the country faces itself, I think it’s only appropriate that we freeze our allowances for the next financial year.”

In its report, the Remuneration Panel noted that the leader’s allowance was ‘significantly higher than the average paid within West Sussex districts’ – by some 33 per cent.

In Chichester, the leader receives £15,500, in Worthing it is £15,195.99, in Crawley it is £14,280, Horsham is £14,170, Adur is £14040.61, and in Arun the allowance is £13,156.

Despite this, one councillor spoken to by the panel suggested Mr Ash-Edwards’ allowance should be increased – but this could not be justified.

After the meeting, Mr Ash-Edwards said: “The coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on council budgets across the country and Mid Sussex is no different. Financial forecasts suggest that the virus will cost the council £8.3 million over the next four years and we must do everything we can to generate savings and protect our services for the future.

“Councillors allowances may only represent a small fraction of the annual council budget but it’s vital that we all lead by example and play our part in minimising the Council’s costs.

“It’s only right that we freeze councillor allowances during this extremely difficult time and I’m delighted that all our members, from across the political spectrum, voted unanimously in favour of this recommendation.”