Support for Councillors and Democratic ServicesCouncillor Allowances
Councils are required to review their allowances scheme on a regular basis (at least every 4 years). SEE has many years experience in advising and assisting councils on allowances, in the following key ways:
Consultancy – SEE can offer a practical role in the review process, as a member and/or chair of your Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP). We can assist with the preparation of background information (benchmarking data, councillor questionnaires), as well as providing active involvement on the Panel itself, and producing the final report. SEE is currently a chair/member of many IRPs across the South East and East of England.
Advice and information – our research and information service is available to all our member councils, free of charge. We can assist with queries on types and levels of allowances paid and on best practice. In addition, we conduct a major annual survey of members allowances paid across the region, providing valuable benchmarking information to the IRP that reviews a council’s allowances scheme.
Training/coaching IRP members – We can support the recruitment of IRP Members as well as training them to support an effective and legally compliant Members’ Allowance review.
We currently run a course called Independent Remuneration Panel Skills. Details of the course can be viewed in our training section here.
…Thank you for the excellent Chairmanship and leadership in conducting the IRP. Your immense knowledge of local government helped in providing us clear direction and focus.