Council allowances rise dubbed 'outrageously high'

A row has broken out over an allowances increase of more than 50% for councillors in Harlow.

The increase was recommended by an independent body and passed by the ruling Conservatives.

Labour said the increase was "outrageously too high".

Dan Swords, the Conservative leader of Harlow Council, said allowances were previously "woefully below" those of other authorities.

The basic allowance Harlow councillors received for carrying out their work last year was £4,575. That figure has been increased to £7,000.

In addition to the basic allowance, the council leader will receive an annual allowance of £19,600. It means his total allowance has increased by 150%.

Members of the cabinet, the leader of the opposition group and the chair of the council have also had their "senior responsibility allowance" payments increased.

An independent organisation, the IRP, recommended the increases. It surveyed Harlow councillors and reported that "none feel their allowances reflect the work they do".

The basic allowance for councillors is based on 50 hours of work a month at the rate of the Real Living Wage of £12 an hour, which is the minimum council employees receive.

The report noted that Stevenage councillors received £8,819 a year as a basic allowance, and in Basildon the figure is £7,045.

Swords said the increase brought Harlow Council in line with similar sized authorities.

He said the basic allowance had "a massive effect" on whether people stood to be councillors, and it put some people off.

He added that his leader's allowance would still be lower than that of the leader of Stevenage Borough Council.

The leader of the Labour opposition group, James Griggs, said "historically allowances have been quite low in Harlow" but it was an "enormous percentage rise [and] we could not in any way support that".

Griggs's allowance is set to increase by 70%, to £11,320 a year.

He told the BBC: "I will accept the allowance but won't be taking that all myself. I will be giving some to charity groups and to support individual causes."

Swords works full-time as leader of the council, but Griggs said that "historically the Harlow leader is not a full-time role".

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