Braintree District Councillors will not take a rise in member allowance this year.
At a meeting of Braintree District Council’s Full Council on January 3rd, Councillors voted not to increase member allowances. Normally, the Council’s members’ allowance would increase in line with the Local Government Staff Annual Pay Award. The yearly members’ allowance for 2022/23 will remain at 2021 rates*.
Councillors work with local people and partners, such as community groups, businesses and other organisations, to agree and deliver on local priorities. The Council has 49 elected Councillors. Councillors are not paid a salary, but they do receive an allowance and are entitled to recover expenses incurred for things such as travel to and from meetings.
The decision to not to increase members’ allowances for 2022/23 will result in a budget saving for the Council.
Cllr Graham Butland, Leader of the Council, said: “Members of this council have taken the decision not to increase the members’ allowance for this coming year. This will have the benefit of not adding to the burden on the Council’s finances which are tight this year reducing the costs to taxpayers.”
Braintree District Council is in the process of setting its budget against a continuing national background of extreme pressures for councils, driven by the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, global increases in prices and interest rates, the effects of the war in Ukraine, alongside escalating costs and extra demand on council services.
A number of saving proposals to mitigate the budget gap in future years will be considered by Councillors during the budget setting process, which concludes when the budget is agreed in February 2023.