COUNCILLORS are set to approve an increase in the allowance for cabinet members.

Members of Westmorland and Furness Council are recommended to approve proposals to increase the allowance of cabinet members by £5,200 a year as the current allowance does not ‘properly reflect’ the commitments of the role.

The Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) recommends the council increase the allowance for cabinet members from £7,800 a year to £13,000 a year. The panel also recommends raising the allowance of the council leader from £23,400 to £26,000 a year and the deputy leader’s allowance from £13,000 to £15,600.

The IRP were also ‘supportive’ of the council adopting an index for the annual adjustment of allowances payable under the members’ allowances scheme.

The IRP were of the view that an ‘appropriate index’ would be applicable to council staff on a set pay structure, which in 2023/24 had equated to an annual increase of 3.88%.

Before recommending the increase, the IRP carried out a survey on special responsibility allowances which was sent out to all members of the council.

According to a council report prepared for a meeting, 13 members responded to the survey and a theme was that the present special responsibility allowances for executive members ‘did not adequately reflect the responsibilities and commitments of the role’, as well as the travel time between meetings.

The total annual cost of the increase in members’ allowances recommended by the Independent Remuneration Panel is £46,800, the council report states.

Council documents show in Cumberland Council the allowance for cabinet members is higher than in Westmorland and Furness, with cabinet members receiving £14,500 a year.

Among the reasons the IRP uses for guiding their recommendations for councillors’ allowances include the promotion of a healthy democracy by minimising ‘financial disadvantage’ as a barrier to standing for election as a councillor.

Another reason stated in the report is the maintenance of the ‘ethic of voluntary public service’ given freely and the need to reflect this ethos within the basic allowance paid to all councillors, so that individuals do not stand for and remain on the council primarily for financial reasons.

Members of Westmorland and Furness Council will decide whether to adopt the recommendations of the IRP at a council meeting on February 22 at the County Hall in Kendal.