SOMERSET’S newest council has confirmed what its ward members can expect to ‘earn’ if they are elected on May 2.

Somerset West and Taunton Council will officially come into being on Monday (April 1), replacing Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council.

As part of the transition process, the new authority has had to agree the allowances which will be paid to elected councillors in recognition of the time they will commit, both to attending meetings and representing their electors in other ways.

The finalised amounts were approved by the shadow full council in Taunton on Tuesday evening (March 26).

The new council’s allowances are set by the joint independent remuneration panel (JIRP), which also sets the allowance levels for Somerset County Council and Mendip District Council.

The panel agreed in December 2018 that all 59 councillors elected on May 2 will receive a basic allowance of £4,950 per year.

These are approved despite Councillor Libby Lisgo’s concerns about the panel lacking “diversity” – because all of its members are men.

The panel has since proposed the level of special responsibility allowances (SRAs), which can be claimed by members of the executive or councillors who sit on or chair various committees, such as planning and scrutiny.

Under the agreed proposals, here’s how much councillors could receive as SRAs per year:

Leader of the council: £15,592

Portfolio holders (members of the executive): £7,375

Chairperson of the council (who chairs full council meetings): £4,578 

Vice-chairperson of the council: £2,302

Chair of the planning committee: £4,578

Chair of the licensing committee: £2,302

Chair of the governance and standards committee: £2,302

Leader of the largest opposition party: £3,514

Leaders of other parties (minimum five elected councillors): £150

The new deputy leader of the council will not receive a special responsibility allowance.

However, if the leader is “incapacitated” or dies in office, the deputy leader will be able to claim a higher allowance after a period of six weeks.

The new mayor and deputy mayor of Taunton will able to claim allowances of £2,930 and £1,570 respectively.

All councillors have the right to opt out of any increase in their allowances, which will rise with inflation up to 2023 when they will be reviewed.

Shadow council leader John Williams confirmed the panel’s report was £16,600 more per year than was already allocated – but it represented a saving of £97,000 on what is currently spent by the two existing councils.

He said: “I’d like to thank the panel for their diligent work. The report is detailed and well-researched.”

Councillor Ian Morrell said the increased allowances was “a difficult PR sell”, and put forward an amendment to allocate an allowance for councillors who chair task and finish groups – which was subsequently defeated.

Councillors are expected to devote just over 24 hours a week to council matters, according to the JIRP’s report.

Of this, around nine hours is expected for attendance at council meeting,s committees and party meetings.

Councillors are expected to devote six hours a week to engaging with constituents (including surgeries), a further five hours of “working with community groups”, and up to five hours of other duties, such as training and representing the council on other bodies.

Councillor Mandy Chilcott said: “Answering and dealing with emails, and preparing for meetings, actually takes longer than attending the meetings themselves. It would be nice in the future if that would be acknowledged.

“It’s not just about turning for meetings, it’s about all the time we put into make the best decision for people.”

The new allowances were approved unanimously by the full council.