Increase to Mid Sussex councillors' allowances is delayed

An Independent Remuneration Panel had recommended a £500 rise in the allowance – which is received by all councillors – for 2023/24, taking it from £5,200 to £5,700.

But during a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (December 7), leader Jonathan Ash-Edwards tabled a motion calling for it to be delayed.

The number of councillors in Mid Sussex is set to fall from 54 to 48 once the Boundary Commission’s boundary review is completed.

Mr Ash-Edwards told the meeting that this would likely make the annual review of the consultation ‘more significant’ and any constitutional changes which came out of that review would need to be reflected in the allowance scheme.

He added: “I think it would be sensible for us to undertake the work on the constitution first and then come back to the panel’s recommendations so they can be considered in the knowledge of what we decide for the constitution review.”

The council also agreed that the overall budget for allowances should not increase, though it would, of course, be shared among fewer people.

As for the other recommendations from the remuneration panel, they included an increase in the deputy leader’s allowance, from £11,000 to £11,400 – but no increase for the leader’s £20,800 allowance.

And they recommended that all cabinet members receive an extra £620, increasing their allowance from the current £8,500 to £9,120.