Councillors get £1 million extra to sit on committees

By Jon Swaine Published: 7:30AM GMT 01 March 2010

The inaugurated sum are each given up to �15,556 from open supports to be members of the bodies, that customarily encounter for dual hours, five or 6 times a year.

They embody Sir Steve Bullock, the Labour mayor of Lewisham in London, who boosts his annual compensate to roughly �96,000 about the same as a youth ministers.

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Shireen Ritchie, a comparison Tory councillor in Kensington and Chelsea and stepmother of the movie executive Guy, additionally rises her annual compensate to roughly �66,000 some-more than an MPs.

The committees are piece of the Local Government Association, the powerful organisation for internal authorities whose �19.3m check is mostly saved by legislature taxation payers.

Their discussions range from immature kids and immature people and internal councils unfamiliar policies to the "views and concerns of the glow community".

As well as being paid a sum of �840,000 a year in "responsibility allowances" for being members, majority of the councillors can additionally explain a accumulation of alternative payments.

These volume to �50,000 a year in transport costs, �22,000 for overnight place to live and �4,000 for subsistence.

Councillors can additionally explain �5.73 an hour to compensate carers to see after their immature kids whilst they lay on the cupboard meetings and transport to and from them.

The payments are finished in further to allowances given to the councillors for their work in their own authorities, that are mostly regarded as their usually arrangement for their domestic work.

Mrs Ritchie is paid �10,469 in allowances as a Kensington and Chelsea councillor and an additional �39,715 as cupboard part of for family and childrens services.

She is additionally management of the LGA Children and Young People Board, whose website says it aims to "secure limit await and coherence for internal supervision to broach the in advance shift bulletin for immature kids and learning".

Mrs Ritchie is paid �15,556 a year to chair the committee, that meets 6 times a year. Agenda from new sittings show that it hold discussions for dual hours prior to finale for lunch.

One of Mrs Ritchies associate Conservatives on the cupboard has not been benefaction at any of 3 meetings it has hold given convening in Sep last year.

Sir Steve receives �10,129 as a Lewisham councillor and �70,100 for being the mayor of the south-east London authority.

He is additionally paid �15,556 to chair the national Human Resources Panel, that oversees "LGA wake up in the areas of compensate and workforce strategies".

Last night the Is It Fair debate group, that lobbies for a remodel of the legislature taxation system, pronounced that spending on the committees should be cut.

Christine Melsom from the organisation said: "We only dont think councillors should be paid this most open income for deliberating legislature work. The LGA is ostensible to be run by councillors.

"The taxpayer is contributing a large volume of income for this and it has got out of hand. The LGA should right away be slimmed down.

"Most people are wakeful of the problems surrounding MPs allowances, but do not know that most councillors and internal officials additionally suffer inexhaustible systems."

A orator for the Local Government Association, said: "On average, the sum allowances and losses check for LGA members is only fourteen pounds per chairman per day.

"With the work that is finished to assistance internal councils, assistance people this represents glorious worth for income to the taxpayer."

Sir Steve said: "I do not privately set the income turn for any post I hold. It is thus for the organisations endangered to criticism on the correspondence of them.

"Councillors in Lewisham, together with me, have motionless not to accept any enlarge in their salaries for the last dual years."

Cllr Ritchie said: "As well as chairing the immature kids and immature people board, I additionally chair conferences, verbalise at LGA events, attend ministerial meetings and give justification to name committees.

"Between the dual jobs, it is really most a full-time role. It is time-consuming and final joining The allowances are motionless by eccentric panels.