Members allowances scheme

Report: 7
Date: 6 November 2001
By: Clerk

Summary

An independent panel commissioned by the Association of Police Authorities (APA) has recently reported on police authority members' allowances, following deregulation of the schemes. Its report proposes a move to schemes based on basic and special responsibility allowances as opposed to the current attendance allowance basis. 

The MPA will need to consider in some detail how it wishes its scheme to operate. An immediate requirement, however, is to have an agreed scheme in place from 1 December 2001, when the new legislative provisions come into force. The Committee are asked to agree, therefore, that the MPA's current scheme for members' allowances be continued from that date until such time as a new scheme is agreed.

A. Recommendation

That the MPA continues to operate its approved scheme for the payment of members' allowances from 1 December 2001 until such time as a new scheme is agreed.

B. Supporting information

1. Up to now, under the Police Act 1996, the Home Secretary (subject to approval of the Treasury) has been responsible for deciding the allowances to be paid to police authority members. The current scheme provides for police authority members to be paid £17 an hour for police authority business. Unlike other police authorities, the MPA has been allowed to set its own annual ceiling on these payments, currently £22,500 for the MPA Chair (if not a GLA member) and £15,000 for its independent and magistrate members. GLA members of the MPA are not eligible to receive allowances for police authority work as they are remunerated for their GLA membership.

2. Following pressure from the APA (and its predecessor bodies), the Home Office accepted that police authorities should have autonomy to manage their own business and that central prescription of members' remuneration was inappropriate. Legislative provisions amending the Police Act 1996 were included in the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. It is understood that these provisions will come into force on 1 December 2001. In brief, they: 

• provide for each police authority to decide its own allowances scheme 
• require each police authority to published details of its allowances scheme every year
• require police authorities to publish any revisions to their scheme before the changes can take effect 
• give the Home Secretary power to issue guidance on local allowances schemes and to set ceilings on the level of payments to be made.

3. The APA commissioned an independent panel to produce guidance for all police authorities to help them develop their local schemes and to ensure a fair degree of consistency in the approaches adopted. This is also seen as self-regulation which is likely to be acceptable to the Home Office. This panel reported its conclusions and recommendations to the APA Plenary on 17 October. The key recommendation is that authorities should move from remuneration based on attendance to a system of basic allowances for all members (excluding for the MPA its GLA members) and special responsibility allowances which recognise the additional demands on, for instance, committee chairs and leading members.

4. It is not the purpose of this report to the Co-ordination & Urgency Committee to consider the findings of the APA's independent panel or to propose a new scheme of allowances for the MPA. Clearly further discussions will be needed before proposals can be developed for the full Authority to consider. However, a decision is needed before 1 December, when the new legislative provisions come into force, on what scheme the Authority intends to operate from that date. Therefore it is recommended that the committee agrees to continue to operate the present approved scheme with effect from 1 December until such time as a new scheme is approved.

C. Financial implications

5. There are no financial implications in continuing with the present scheme from 1 December. The existing 2001/02 budget is £194,000.

D. Background papers

None.

E. Contact details

Report author: Simon Vile, MPA.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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