REPORT OF THE

STANDARDS COMMITTEE

PART I

INDEPENDENT APPEAL PANEL - TRAVEL ALLOWANCE

1. At its meeting on 18 September the County Council approved recommendations from the Committee on Members' allowances. Among those was a decision that all travel allowances, including those for Co-opted Members, Independent Members and Independent Appeal Panel Members, should be at the same rate as the staff travel allowances and that no subsistence allowances should be paid in future.

2. The practical effect of this decision on Members of the Education Independent Appeal Panel is to reduce their mileage rate from 48.5p to 45.7p per mile, which results in Members of that Panel suffering a financial disadvantage. The Council will know of the valuable voluntary role carried out by such Members, in determining appeals by parents against refusal of admission to schools and permanent exclusion from schools. The task can be an onerous one, since it involves preparation, deliberation at appeal hearings which can be prolonged, and continuous training to keep them up to date with changes in the law. Unlike Councillors, Co-opted and Independent Members, these Appeal Panel Members do not receive any allowance or payment.

3. The Committee is now of the view that the County Council should be recommended to vary their decision in September 2003 in order to reinstate the higher mileage rate.

RECOMMENDATION

4. That the motor vehicle allowance for Independent Appeal Panel Members be reinstated at 48.5p per mile and that the allowance be increased annually in line with the rate of increase for staff travel allowances.

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