Council members' allowances set to rise if proposals agreed

A CAMBRIDGESHIRE council's members’ allowances are set to increase by £122,000 in total.

- By ABIGAIL NICHOLSON

An independent panel has reviewed Cambridgeshire County Council's scheme of members’ allowances and will recommend a number of changes to the scheme at next week’s full council meeting (July 15).

The panel made up of residents, business people and members of the judiciary considered the amount of basic allowance paid to every councillor - last reviewed in 2021 - and the amount paid in addition for any ‘special responsibilities.

They have based their recommendations on the view promoted by the independent Councillors Commission in 2007.

This recognised that being an elected councillor involves an amount of unpaid service, and people’s financial situation should not prevent them from standing.

Recommendations include that the basic allowance paid to all members of Cambridgeshire County Council should be £13,214 per annum.

It also recommends that no more than half of the council - 30 members - should be eligible for additional ‘special responsibility allowances’ (SRAs) for bearing significant additional responsibilities at any one time.