Hackney councillors express discomfort at having to vote on their own pay

Calls were heard at a recent Hackney Town Hall meeting for the government to alter arrangements whereby councillors vote on their own allowances.

Unlike MPs, whose salaries are set by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, councillors vote on reports and recommendations from an independent remuneration panel responsible for reviewing members’ allowances.

In Hackney’s case, this is provided by London Councils and chaired by former civil servant Sir Rodney Brooke CBE DL.

Councillors this week voted to accept an increase of allowances by 2.75 per cent in line with the national pay settlement for local government officers, but Conservative councillors Harvey Odze and Simche Steinberger abstained from voting on the measures.

Cllr Odze said: “I find it invidious that the government forces us to vote on our own allowances. It should be nothing to do with the council. It should be totally independent and agreed by an outside body, not by the council.

“The only input the council should have is if it feasible within the budget. I think we should make representations to the government accordingly.

“Yet again I will say, it was a stupid decision of the government, even though it is a Conservative government, to exclude councillors from the local government pension scheme, as I think we are losing talent because of it.”

Each Hackney councillor is currently entitled to a basic allowance of just over £11k/yr, designed to give elected representatives payments in recognition of committing to attending council meetings and to meet with officers and constituents.

It also covers costs such as phone bills, with an extra allowance accruing on top of this if a member of the Town Hall holds a special responsibility.

The chair of the planning committee, for example, receives just under £18k/yr as a special responsibility allowance (SRA), with members of the Mayor’s cabinet receiving £36,645/yr and the two Deputy Mayors receiving a £43,475/yr SRA.

The only member of the council who receives neither a basic allowance or SRA is Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville, who receives an annual allowance of £85,375/yr. The full budget for the members allowance scheme for 2020/21 with the uplift included is £1.387m.

Mayor Glanville said at the meeting: “I echo Cllr Odze. I don’t think any of us find it easy looking at this and voting on our own allowances.

“The pension scheme is also something I agree with Cllr Odze on. I understand it is [Conservative] party policy to restore that, so I look forward to that at some future date.”