Council allowances exceed £1million (From Western Telegraph)

Council allowances exceed £1million

10:50am Sunday 15th July 2012 in County News

The amount paid to county councillors in allowances and travel costs has dropped since last year but still tops the £1million mark for the fifth year running.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s 60 members received a share of £1,036,232 in 2011/2012 – a reduction on last year’s £1,051,315 – according to figures published by the authority.

The total figure includes basic allowance, special responsibility allowance (SRA) and travel costs.

It includes a reduction of basic allowance payment to former councillor Kate Becton who stood down in December 2011, receiving £8,854.

The authority paid a total of £803, 849 in basic allowances, £201,690 SRA and £30,693 travel costs.

Topping the pay scale was former council leader Cllr John Davies who received £46,827 which included £13,743 basic allowance, £29,513 SRA and £3,841 travel costs – the highest claim for travel of all members.

Deputy leaders Cllr Jamie Adams – now leader of the council – and Cllr John Allen-Mirehouse received a total of £28,966 and £30,339 respectively with Cllr Allen-Mirehouse claiming £1,373 travel costs.

The total cost of the cabinet was £280,194 with all members receiving more than £1,000 in travel costs apart from Cllr Jamie Adams and former councillor Anne Hughes who received none.

Cllr Rob Lewis received travel costs of £3,182, Cllr Huw George £2,878 and Cllr David Simpson £2,220.

Outside the cabinet the highest travel cost was paid to Cllr Wynne Evans, who received £2,609, followed by former councillor Sian James with £1,461 and Cllr Mike James with £1,112.

SRAs of £8,854 were paid to Cllrs David Bryan, Tom Richards and Peter Stock while the leaders of the three political groups, Cllrs Sue Perkins, Stanley Hudson and Michael Williams received £2,951.

SRA for cabinet members was £14,756 with Mrs Hughes receiving £8,362 after taking on the newly separated child safeguarding role following damning reports into safeguarding issues in Pembrokeshire.

The deputy leaders received £15,493 SRA.

Hakin and Hubberston councillors Mike and Vivien Stoddart received a lower basic allowance of £13,233 because they chose to share the £500 IT/communications and office support supplement included because they share a computer.

The council said that that travel costs of all members – which include mileage payments and bridge tolls – were in line with last year and that as in previous years, members have not claimed subsistence allowances for food costs.