AT A MEETING of the INDEPENDENT REMUNERATION PANEL of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority held at The Castle, Winchester on 13 October, 2003.

PRESENT:

F.H.M. Quick and G. Wilkinson

The following officers were in attendance:

J. Pattison and K. Ridout - For Clerk to Authority

B. Ingram - For Treasurer to Authority

Introduction

The Panel had before them a report of the Clerk about the requirement for Combined Fire Authorities to have their own Members' Allowance Scheme in place by 31 December 2003. They noted that their recommendations would be considered by the HFRA Standards Committee on 24 October 2003, prior to the matter going forward to the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority for determination on 10 December 2003.

As a starting point, the Panel supported the current County Council Members' Allowance Scheme which provided in relation to the HFRA a special responsibility allowance of £10,300 to the Chairman of the Fire Authority and allowances of £5,150 and £2,580 respectively to the Liberal Democrat and Labour Minority Party Spokespersons; in each case the allowances only being payable if the office holder was a County Councillor. They highlighted the need to ensure that no double payment was made to the Chairman or Liberal Democrat Spokesperson and asked that the appropriate administrative arrangements be adopted to ensure this.

Then, the Panel gave consideration to:-

1. Basic Allowance

The Panel RECOMMENDED a basic allowance of £1000 per annum.

2. Special Responsibility Allowance

The Panel RECOMMENDED that the special responsibility allowances be as shown in Appendix I to these notes.

3. Co-optees Allowance

Consideration was given to the payment of the two Independent Members serving on the Standards Committee. The Panel RECOMMENDED an annual allowance of £400 be made to each.

4. Method of Payment of Allowances

The Panel RECOMMENDED in respect of payments of Basic Allowance, Special Responsibility Allowance and Co-optees Allowance that the method of payment be monthly.

5. Travelling and Subsistence Allowance

The Panel RECOMMENDED that all travel allowances including those for Independent Members should be at the same rate as for County Council staff travel allowances and that no subsistence allowances should be paid. The allowances are as shown in Appendix II to these notes.

6. Full Review

It was RECOMMENDED that a full review of all allowances including special responsibility allowances be carried out by the Panel in 2005; the review to take account of any changes in the operation and working of the Authority.

7. Suspension of Allowances

The Panel RECOMMENDED that the Scheme of Allowances should provide that, when a Member of the Authority was suspended from all duties, all allowances, including travel, dependants' carers' and childcare allowances, should be withheld for the period of the suspension. Where a Member was partially suspended, any special responsibility allowance relating to any duties from which the Member was wholly suspended should be withheld for that period.

8. Dependants' Carers' Allowance

The Panel RECOMMENDED that Childcare and Dependents' Carers' Allowances should be made at the rate paid by Hampshire Social Services and that the maximum payable per annum per Member would be £1000 (Hampshire Social Services allowances £7 per hour for Dependants' Carers and £7.62 for 2.5 hours for childcare).

9. Annual Adjustment

The Panel RECOMMENDED that the Scheme of Allowances should provide for future automatic index-linked annual adjustments to remuneration by reference to the settlement for Fire and Rescue Service non-uniformed staff increases or equivalent, effective from the operative date of their award.

10. Retrospectively

The Panel RECOMMENDED that the Basic Allowance, Special Responsibility Allowances and Co-optees Allowance should be backdated to 1 May 2003.

11. Recovery of Allowances Paid

The Panel RECOMMENDED that the Scheme of Allowances should provide that any allowance that has been paid to a Member whilst on suspension, or any allowance after a Member had ceased to be a Member of the Authority should be recovered.

12. Duplication

The Panel RECOMMENDED that the Scheme of Allowances should provide that, where a Member is a Member of two or more Authorities they should not receive more than one allowance for the same duties.

13. Elections to Forgo Allowances

The Panel RECOMMENDED that the Scheme of Allowances should provide all Members should be enabled by notice to the Clerk to forgo entitlement of all or part of any allowances paid to them.

14. Claims and Payments

The Panel RECOMMENDED that the Scheme of Allowances should provide that travelling, Dependants' Carers' and Child Care allowances for all Members and Independent Members must be claimed within six months from the date of the meeting concerned.

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Appendix I

HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY

MEMBERS ALLOWANCES SCHEME - BASIC ALLOWANCE

AND SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITY ALLOWANCES

£

per annum

(i) Basic Allowance 1,000

(ii) Special Responsibility Allowances

Only one special responsibility allowance is payable
to any Member under the scheme. The allowances
in brackets will not be paid whilst the current
postholder receives a higher special responsibility
allowance in respect of another post, except where a
Vice-Chairman of the Authority is also Chairman of
a Committee.

Chairman of the Authority 10,300

Vice-Chairman of the Authority (x 2) 500 each

Chairman of Committees (x 4) 6,200 each
Finance and General Purposes
Personnel Committee
Performance Review Committee
Standards Committee

Vice-Chairman of Committees
Finance and General Purposes 1,500
Personnel Committee 1,500
Performance Review Committee (not applicable)
Standards Committee (1,500)

Independent Members (x2) 400 each
Standards Committee

Minority Spokespersons on HFRA

Liberal Democrat Party 5,150

Labour Party 2,580

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Appendix II

HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY

RATES OF TRAVELLING ALLOWANCES PAYABLE TO MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY AND TO INDEPENDENT MEMBERS

1. Cycle allowance

The rate for travel by a Member on a Member's own cycle/
electric cycle or one provided for his/her use 8.1p per mile

2. Motor cycle allowance

The rate for travel by a Member's own solo motor cycle or one
provided for his/her use: 25.2p per mile

3. Motor vehicle allowance

The rate for travel by a Member's own private motor

vehicle, or one belonging to a member of his family

or otherwise provided for his/her use, other than a solo

motor cycle: 45.7p per mile

The rates specified in paragraph 3 may be increased by not more than the amount of any expenditure incurred on tolls, ferries or parking fees, including overnight garaging

4. Rates for travel by public transport or taxi

(a) the rate for travel by public transport shall not exceed the amount of the

ordinary fare or any available cheap fare, and where more than one class of fare is available, the rate shall be determined, in the case of travel by ship by reference to first class fares, and in any other case by reference to second class fares unless the body determines, either generally or specifically, that first class fares shall be substituted.

(b) The rate specified in the preceding sub-paragraph may be increased by

supplementary allowances not exceeding expenditure actually incurred:

(i) on Pullman car or similar supplements, reservation of seats and deposit or porterage of luggage; and

(ii) on sleeping accommodation engaged by the Member for an

overnight journey, subject, however, to reduction by one third of any subsistence allowance payable to him for that night;



(c) The rate for travel by taxi cab shall not exceed:

(i) in cases of urgency or where no public transport is reasonably

available, the amount of the actual fare and any other
reasonable gratuity paid; and

(ii) in any other case, the amount of the fare for travel by
appropriate public transport.

(d) The rate for travel by a hired motor vehicle other than a taxi cab shall
not exceed the rate which would have been applicable had the vehicle
belonged to the Member who hired it, provided that where the body
approves, the rate may be increased to an amount not exceeding the
actual cost of hiring.

(e) The rate for travel by air shall not exceed the rate applicable to travel
by appropriate alternative means of transport together with an
allowance equivalent to the amount of any saving in attendance
allowance or financial loss allowance, and subsistence allowance
consequent on travel by air.

Provided that where the body resolves, either generally or specifically,
that the saving in time is not substantial as to justify payment of the
fare for travel by air, there may be paid an amount not exceeding:

(i) the ordinary fare or any available cheap fare for travel by regular air service; or

(ii) where no such service is available or in case of urgency, the
fare actually paid by the Member.

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