East Hampshire councillors give themselves a huge 35 per cent pay rise as allowances are increased

An independent body has recommended that East Hampshire District Council increase its basic for councillors pay by 35 per cent to £7,000 per year – the first rise for more than a decade. Councillor Nick Drew, legal and governance and performance portfolio holder said there is never a good time to vote for pay increases but allowances need to be fair to encourage people to be councillors.

He said: “In the interest of democracy every person should be able to stand and be a councillor so allowances ensure democracy is available in East Hampshire for our residents.” Council documents said diversity and enabling new members of the public to be elected and take up a position as a councillor was important.

The increases in allowances, from £5,200 to £7,000, will cost the taxpayer an extra £122,000 per year, the council said. The Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP), which gives advice on the nature and level of allowances to be paid to councillors, looked at 62 southeast authorities in the UK, 17 being of a similar geographical size to East Hampshire and they also carried out 21 interviews with councillors regarding allowances.

All councillors receive a basic allowance and some with ‘special responsibilities’ receive an additional allowance for holding that position, e.g. the leader of the council will be paid £28,000 in total – an increase of £4,800.

Technically councillors do not get paid, they receive allowances for their time and commitment to being a councillor, working for their community and holding public office. The new basic rates in East Hampshire differ from £8,832 on the Isle of Wight, £7.704 in Fareham £7,704 and £5,460 in Chichester. Andrew Kirk, David Heck and Peter Moore, the IRP members who looked at the scheme of allowances, said they wanted to ensure ‘transparency’, ‘fairness’ and a ‘levelling up.’ They concluded that East Hampshire district councillors’ allowances were ‘lagging’ behind similar authorities, as there had been a long ‘freeze.’

There has effectively been a pay freeze for 12 years and even the recommendations in the last review, due to the uncertain global situation were not taken forward in 2022. Since the May elections, 22 new members joined the council, now with a leadership coalition and increased numbers in opposition. The IRP report sets out a variety of options, evidence and issues considered to reach its recommendations. The council will decide on the increases at a full council meeting on January 11, 2024. The table below sets out the rates proposed by the IRP for basic and special responsibility allowances.