Review of Allowances

There has been some media and twitter comment about the latest review of Councillors' Allowances at Cambridgeshire County Council (note the way I conveniently skip past the previous disaster!!), this review is something that Councils are obliged to do, the Cambridgeshire one is years overdue. There is a public meeting about the review next Monday at Anglia Ruskin University.

The panel will take into account the workload and responsibility of Councillors and how our rates compare to others, it will also take into account current economic circumstances.

Once the panel's recommendations are made County Councillors will have to vote on whether to adopt them or not.

I am putting this blog post here to repeat my previous view and my intention.  Whatever the outcomes of that review, my vote will be to support its recommendations.  MPs no longer vote on their salaries, yet have kept a scheme in place that makes Councillors vote on their allowances - if they know it is not right for them, they should not force it on us.  I am therefore not going to play any games and I am declaring my intention now, which is not to intervene in the decisions of the independent panel and therefore to accept whatever it recommends.

Just to reiterate the point, when Fenland District Council voted on the review, Councillors chose to amend the proposed scheme.  As a result of this, I chose to abstain from the vote.  I have also voted in support of a successful motion at Cambridgeshire County Council calling on the Government to change this ludicrous system.