23/10/2009 - Members' allowances and expenses published for 2008/9

Cumbria County Council today publishes details of councillors' allowances and expenses for 2008/09.

All 84 county councillors are entitled to a basic allowance of £8,007 per annum in recognition of the time and commitment they devote to the task. 

The county council pays an additional allowance to some councillors, known as a special responsibility allowance. This recognises the extra responsibilities and workloads for members of the cabinet, chairs and vice-chairs of local committees, scrutiny panel chairs, group leaders and the leader of the council.

Both the basic and the special responsibility allowances are determined by an Independent Renumeration Panel and members' expenses are subject to external audit from the district auditors.

Councillors can claim for mileage incurred for council business. For the year 2008/9 councillors were entitled to claim 38.1 pence per mile for cars under 1000cc and 42.4 pence per mile for cars over 1000cc. Members can also claim re-imbursement of travel and accommodation expenses for approved county council duties as well as for telephone calls and a carers' allowance if they need care cover to attend council meetings. 

In 2008/9 £161,050 of the total £174,524 claimed in members' expenses was for mileage, meaning just under 8% of councillors expenses were for items other than driving to council meetings. The total amount of members' expenses has also decreased by 2% from the 2007/8 figure of £178,238.

Overall, the cost of allowances and expenses for all 84 members has also decreased. In 2007/8 the total figure was £1.105m, and this decreased to £1.095m in 2008/9.

An attached spreadsheet shows individual county councillor's allowances, expenses and special responsibilities for the year April 1 2008 - March 31 2009. Another attached document shows allowances paid to county councillors who are also appointed to serve on either Cumbria Police Authority or the Lake District National Park Authority.

Members allowances year end report 2008-09 (PDF)

ENDS

Media enquiries to Gareth Cosslett, News Manager on 01228 226332