Council Constitution

Part 6 - Members' Allowance Scheme

It should be noted that the allowances will be increased in line with the Local Government Pay Award, once determined..

Tameside Duties :

The Basic Allowance for all Members shall be £10,946 and include the consolidated allowance of £1,593 to cover telephone (including mobile phones whether supplied by the Council or not) subsistence and travel within Tameside.

Special Responsibility Allowances shall be:

• Executive Leader £33,885
• First Deputy £22,092
• Cabinet Deputies £18,899
• Chair of Council Business £10,596
• Chair of Overview (Audit) Panel £9,009
• Deputy Chair of Overview (Audit) Panel £3,003
• Chairs of Scrutiny Panels £9,009
• Deputy Chairs of Scrutiny Panels £3,003
• Chair of Speakers Panel (Planning) £9,009
• Deputy Chair of Speakers Panel (Planning) £3,003
• Chair of Speakers Panel (Licensing) £5,829
• Deputy Chair Speakers Panel (Licensing) £2,169
• Chairs of Speakers Panel (Liquor Licensing) £5,829
• Deputy Chair Speakers Panel (Liquor Licensing) £2,169
• Aide-de-Camp and Project Head £7,854
• Leader of Opposition £10,596
• Cabinet Secretaries £7,854
• Chairs of District Assemblies £9,009
• Deputy Chairs of District Assemblies £3,003
• Leaders of Minority Parties £2,169

The following appropriate Special Responsibility Allowances to be paid in respect of Greater Manchester Pension Fund:

• Chair £15,000
• Deputy Chair £7,500
• Working Group Chair £2,226
• Member of Pension Fund £1,272

The above payments are to be made direct to all elected Members' place of residence, not to the nominating body.

A Basic Allowance of £1,881 to be paid to all elected Members in respect of Membership of Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority.

Notes

• Pensions are made available to all Councillors eligible to join the Local Government Pension Scheme in respect of both basic and special responsibility allowances.
• No Member should be entitled to more than one Special Responsibility Allowance where it relates to internal Tameside MBC business.
• The scheme of allowances to be updated annually in accordance with the annual Local Government pay award.
• In addition to the Council publishing the records of attendance at local meetings, Councillors shall also report annually to the Council and the electorate on their activities throughout the year in respect of the number of constituents’ complaints pursued, number of surgeries held, community meetings attended and a self assessment of what the Member has achieved for the Ward in the previous year. This shall take the form of Work Diaries which Members will be required to complete and submit to the Democratic Services Unit on a monthly basis.

Broadband - Members ICT Scheme Allowance

All those Members who participate in the Members ICT Scheme and contract for the supply of Broadband will receive a further allowance of £250 towards their bill, which will be in their name.

Co-Optees Allowance

Independent Members of the Council’s Standards Committee shall receive an annual co-optees’ allowance of £500 and any independent Member serving as Chair of the Standards Committee shall receive an annual co-optees’ allowance of £1,000.

Carer's Allowance

• Councillors who care for children can claim a carer’s allowance of up to £5.45 per hour, subject to a maximum weekly payment of £40.86, equivalent to seven-and-a-half hours of care per week.
• This allowance shall be upgraded in accordance with the local government pay settlement.
• Payment is claimable in respect of children aged 15 or under or in respect of other dependants where there is medical or social work evidence that care is required.
• Only one weekly payment is claimable in respect of the household of each Member, except in special circumstances to be judged by the Council’s Standards Committee.
• This allowance shall not be paid in respect of care by Members of the immediate family.
• Payment will be made only where supported by a receipt and should be made within six months of incurring the expenditure.
• Any allegations of abuse of the scheme are to be referred to the Council’s Standards Committee for adjudication.
• For the care of other dependents whilst on approved duties, Councillors shall be entitled to claim an allowance in accordance with the appropriate rates of the Social Services Department.

Travel And Subsistence Allowance Away From The Greater Manchester Area

For travel and subsistence outside the district area

Allowance Rate

• If an overnight stay is involved, then, wherever possible, the Council should reserve and pay directly for the accommodation.
• If, exceptionally, this is not possible, then the payment for overnight accommodation should be within the maxima specified for senior employees. 
• If a Member stays away from home overnight and does not avail him/herself of the evening meal in the hotel, then he/she may take an evening meal up to the value of £20 (£30 if in London or at LGA conference), which will only be reimbursed on the provision of a receipt. This provision only applies to evening meals.
• Claims for travel (including a bicycle allowance) and subsistence should not exceed the standard allowances claimable by employees, except that Councillors should be entitled to first class rail travel. 
• Where the period of absence gives an entitlement to more than one meal, then allowances can be aggregated over the period in question.
• For overseas journeys, Councillors should be entitled to claim reasonable expenses, having regard to the country visited. 
• In all cases claims should be supported by receipts.
• Meals on trains to be claimed at full costs in lieu of Subsistence Allowance.
• Hotel Accommodation - Members to have the hotel booked and paid for by the Authority (in which case, the overnight Subsistence Allowance is reduced accordingly). The limits on expenditure are as shown above.
• Hospitality - Any hospitality given by Tameside Councillors must be arranged in advance and approved by the Leader of the Council or Borough Treasurer. Approved hospitality must be notified to the Borough Treasurer in writing prior to the event. 
  Any hospitality must involve people from an external body with whom the Council has a current or proposed business relationship. The number of Council representatives should be proportionate to that from the external body and be relevant to the matter under discussion. 
• Meetings of Certain National Bodies - Where a Member is appointed, by the Council, to attend a meeting, other than a conference, of a national body of which the Council is a subscribing Member, approval has been given for payment of out-of-pocket expenses (under Section 175) for travel and subsistence only, the amount not to exceed the prescribed rates shown above.

Notes

1. Conferences including accommodation must be booked in advance and paid for by the Council.
2. Arrangements can be made for seat reservations for travel on British Rail. 
3. Subsistence Allowance is payable only when a Member is carrying out an Approved Duty and subject to (E) and (F) below. 
4. Cash advances in respect of subsistence and travel will only be made to Councillors in extreme circumstances and at the discretion of the Executive Leader. 
5. The legislation requires that travel and subsistence allowances can only be claimed for a duty approved prior to the journey. For the purpose of attendance at conferences/seminars, organized by the bodies to which the Council has appointed representatives, or which are included in the Standing List of Conferences approved annually by the Council, these will automatically be classed as an approved duty. Attendance at all other conferences/seminars should be considered by the Aide-de-Camp prior to confirmation by the appropriate Member of the Executive Management Team.
6. Any “Approved Duty” is defined in the legislation as any task approved by the Council for the purpose of, or in connection with, the discharge of its functions or of any of its Panels, District Assemblies or Committees. 
7. Wherever possible, Councillors should be accompanied by an Officer when attending Conferences or Seminars. 
8. Members will be paid their allowance(s) on 15th of each month and may receive up to 1/3rd of their annual allowance after the Annual Meeting of the Council provided such applications are made to the Borough Treasurer by the 6th of the month following the Annual Ceremonial Council meeting.
9. The Council shall bear the annual cost of the notification fee required of Councillors by the Information Commissioner. 
10. The Standards Committee shall have the power to withdraw allowances wholly or partially in the event of a Member being suspended in whole or in part.