Agenda item

The Chair of the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel, John Thomson, will be in attendance.

In 2019 the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel prepared a report to the Shadow Authority on Members Allowances.  Included within it was a consideration of the roles of Town Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the Unparished areas of Taunton.  At the time the Panel prepared the report, it was considered that there was insufficient information to make firm decisions, and so an interim recommendation regarding allowances was made, with a proviso that after “a year’s experience of the offices of Mayor and Deputy Mayor”, the allowances be reviewed by the Panel.  This report is that review.

The Chair of the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel (JIRP), John Thomson, was in attendance and presented the report of the Panel, their findings and recommendations.

In 2019 the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel prepared a report to the Shadow Authority on Members Allowances.  Included within it was a consideration of the roles of Town Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the Unparished areas of Taunton.  At the time the Panel prepared the report, it was considered that there was insufficient information to make firm decisions, and so an interim recommendation regarding allowances was made, with a proviso that after “a year’s experience of the offices of Mayor and Deputy Mayor”, the allowances be reviewed by the Panel.  This report was that review.

During the discussion of this item, Members made comments and asked questions which included:-

·       A comment was made that the potential loss of the mayoralty in 2019 had been an issue that was raised on the doorstep when campaigning so public awareness was high and the people were keen on the Mayoralty being maintained.

·       The cutting of the Deputy Mayoral allowance was considered unfair in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic’s effect on the number of events that could be attended.

·       It was suggested that the allowances be reviewed after a ‘normal’ year.

·       It was commented that the first year of the Mayoralty which was slightly curtailed by the pandemic in March 2020 was still a valid data-set from which to draw conclusions. The Deputy Mayoral allowance being set at half the Mayor’s allowance was commented as generous as the Deputy would not carry out half of the Mayor’s work.

·       The current Deputy Mayor commented that she had felt awkward taking an allowance in this current year due to the lack of activity, and so a lot had been donated to charity or to her local church.

·       It was suggested that a lot of postponed events in the next municipal year may mean that the next Deputy Mayor will be a lot busier.

·       The status of the Borough Mayoralty as opposed to a Town Mayor was different and time was needed to establish what work-load was required, with previous experiences not a true measure.

RESOLVED that the Charter Trustees for Taunton;

1)    Noted the work undertaken by the JIRP which has reviewed the work-load of the Mayor and Deputy with information supplied by the Council, and has considered how the allowances compared with other areas with Charter Trustees.

2)    Disregarded the recommendation of the JIRP to reduce the Special Responsibility Allowance for the Deputy Mayor of Taunton by half to reflect a reduced workload, with the reasoning being that due to the Covid-19 pandemic’s effects, this had impacted on the statistical information reviewed, with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Taunton unable to fulfil the expected duties of their role and the number of events and activities they could attend. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s special responsibility allowances for 2021/2022 would be kept the same as currently.

3)    Supported the recommendation that the index linking of the allowance be retained.

4)    Supported the recommendation that the situation be reviewed again in a year, when hopefully ‘normal’ (post Covid-19) activity had taken place.