The Essex Chronicle has criticised the County Council for increasing county councillors’ allowances and expenses:
ESSEX county councillors scoffed ?7,000 worth of biscuits at taxpayers’ expense, the Chronicle can reveal.
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Taxpayers also picked up the bill as local politicians munched through more than ?41,000 worth of free lunches washed down with ?15,000 of coffee in a year.
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The shocking figures emerged as councillors voted to keep their members’ dining area and also increase their expenses by around ?130,000 ? 8.3 per cent ? to ?1.6 million.
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Meanwhile, the council ? which spends ?2billion a year ? is having to cut jobs and trim back-office services to the tune of ?300million over three years.
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On Tuesday, union chiefs at Essex County Council said they had seen a secret hit list to axe 85 jobs to pay for performance-related pay, start a two-year pay freeze, stop bonuses for lowest paid employees, trim working hours from 37 to 36 or 35 hours a week, and stop sick pay for the first three days.
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An independent review into councillors’ allowances, chaired by Sir Rodney Brooke, had recommended scrapping the private dining area where members get free coffee, soft drinks and crisps from vending machines and even free lunches and dinners delivered from the public/staff restaurant in County Hall, Chelmsford.
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But councillors voted unanimously against scrapping the restaurant gravy train, which cost ?64,000 in the 2008/09 financial year, and agreed instead that it should be ‘reviewed’.
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At the same time they approved the rise in their allowances ? also recommended in the independent review ? but promised to approve no further hikes before 2013.
County Council Cabinet members – such as Stephen Castle – see their annual allowance increase from ?27,000 to ?35,000.
The Echo reports on it here.
This is all a bit confusing. We have the Lib/Dem Coalition Cabinet taking a 5% pay cut reported here (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b628acdc-5e85-11df-9266-00144feab49a.html)and yet a Conservative administration at Essex County Council giving themselves a basic allowance increase of 6.1% pay rise and in the case of cabinet members a pay rise of nearly 30% based on the figures quoted by the Editor above.
It is reported in the Echo that there has not been a rise since 2005. If there had been a financial hardship issue or gross unfairness then it would have been reviewed much earlier.
I suppose that it would not have been a great deal of help in the County Council Elections last year to have increased allowances just then and just now it looks like a sneaky,sneaky measure to get it in before the public spending cuts to be announced this week.
It is disgraceful and Essex County Council should be called on by the new Government to reverse this immediately.
And all I aked for was a few jammy dodgers!!!
Ummm…..Councillors’ basic allowance is around £11K per annum. The meal provision at County Hall is a modest addition to an already modest allowance.
I think that independent review and scrutiny of Councillors’ remuneration and the employment-decisions of a Council are quite separate matters and need different reference points.
This is a cheap shot, IMHO