Does your city, town or parish pay its councillors an allowance?
The Wiltshire Independent Remuneration Panel is about to undertake a review of city, town and parish allowances within the Wiltshire unitary authority area.
Though Wiltshire Council is the responsible authority for establishing and supporting the Panel, this is an independent review of the allowances scheme to enable your council to pay such an allocation should it wish to.
City, town and parish councils can choose to pay their members an allowance, known as a ‘parish basic allowance’, to recognise the time and effort councillors put into their parish duties. They may also make an allowance available to its Chair. There is no obligation on parish and town councils to pay any allowances.
No review of city, town and parish allowances has been undertaken in Wiltshire since the county became a unitary authority in 2009 therefore the Panel is looking to devise a standard scheme, fair to all, which can be referred to if you wish to pay allowances.
The Panel will be circulating a survey to all towns and parish clerks on 16 September 2024 to understand the current position regarding allowances and to capture comments and suggestions.
If you have any questions regarding the review please contact Simon Bennett, Senior Scrutiny Officer, Wiltshire Council simon.bennett@wiltshire.gov.uk
