Pay rise caution at Park (From Western Telegraph)

Pay rise caution at Park

Members of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority have reacted very cautiously to the offer of a ten-fold increase in pay.

The rise would put them on par with county councillors, who voted themselves massive pay rises earlier this year.

Authority chief executive, Nic Wheeler, advised members to postpone any decision on the offer of increased allowances. He said the chairmen of all three Welsh National Parks would meet soon to come up with a united response.

New National Assembly guidelines recommend a maximum basic allowance of £10,200 a year for authority members, with extra allowances of £7,362 and £4,909 for the chairman and vice-chairman respectively.

The current basic allowance is a modest £960 per member, with extra payments of £1,100 and £550 for the chairman and vice-chairman. Several members expressed concern that they had been 'overlooked' when county council allowances were reviewed and were now being, in Mr Wheeler's words, 'brought in as an afterthought'.

The fact that ten of the authority's 15 members are county councillors meant many members were concerned about the problem of 'double payment'. Such double payment could see members with special responsibilities on either body earning nearly £30,000 a year in combined allowances.

Councillor Simon Hancock said it was offensive that members were put in a position where they had to decide upon their own allowances. Mrs Jane Heard agreed, saying the idea seemed totally contrary to the new code of conduct which aims to ensure all authority business is seen to be above board.

However, some members were unhappy to see that care allowances and financial loss allowances available to county councillors were not on offer for authority members. Councillor Stephen Watkins said the authority had as much need for younger members as the county council and should have the same incentives available.