AT A MEETING of the INDEPENDENT REMUNERATION PANEL of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority held at The Castle, Winchester on 10 September, 2004 Item 6

PRESENT:

F.H.M. Quick and G. Wilkinson.

The following officers were in attendance:

J. Pattison and K. Ridout - for Clerk to the Authority

E. Knudsen - for Treasurer to the Authority

Introduction

The Panel had before them a report of the Clerk about possible additions to the HFRA Members' Allowance Scheme. Namely; appropriate special responsibility allowances for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the new Governance Committee and for a new member appointment to deal specifically with better communications and liaison between all members of the Authority. Also, the Panel were asked to look at an earlier Standards Committee recommendation not to pay a special responsibility allowance to fire authority members involved in Disciplinary/Grievance hearings and to confirm or otherwise that next year's allowances are uplifted in accordance with current arrangements.

Then, the Panel gave consideration to:-

1. Special Responsibility Allowance for Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Governance Committee

The Panel felt that the responsibility involved mirrored that of the Standards Committee and therefore RECOMMENDED the same allowances as for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Standards Committee namely,

£
Chairman of Governance Committee 3,085
Vice-Chairman of Governance Committee 770

2. Special Responsibility Allowance for a Proposed New Member Appointment with Responsibility for Communication Liaison

The Panel were undecided as to whether a special responsibility allowance was appropriate for such a Member role believing that such responsibility was an integral part of effective management by both members and officers. Notwithstanding this, they felt if such an allowance was justified, it should be at the lower end of the scale and that the special responsibility allowance should not exceed £925 per annum.

The Panel RECOMMENDED a special responsibility allowance for the position not exceeding £925 per annum.

3. Not to pay a Special Responsibility Allowance to HFRA Members involved in Disciplinary/Grievance Hearings

The Panel endorsed the views of the Standards Committee and Fire Authority and RECOMMENDED no special responsibility allowance to Members involved in Disciplinary/Grievance hearings.

4. Confirmation or otherwise that next years allowances will be uplifted in accordance with current arrangements

The Panel RECOMMENDED that next years allowances be uplifted in accordance with current arrangements ie by reference to the pay settlement for Fire and Rescue Service non uniformed staff.

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