Scarborough Borough Council aim to recruit three people to review councillors' expenses

The council is required to have a Members' Allowances Scheme whereby councillors (elected members) are entitled to fair allowances and expenses to cover the basic costs of carrying out their duties e.g. for travelling to meetings.

The scheme helps ensure people from all walks of life have the opportunity to act as local representatives. Allowances, which are not a wage, recognise that people are offering their time to act as elected representatives of local people so provides some financial recompense.

To ensure that the council’s current scheme provides value for money, the IRP will undertake a review of the scheme between December 2018 and February 2019.

The three new people to be appointed to the panel will gain a wide range of experience and skills, including the mechanics and challenges of local government, the range of work and services provided, how priorities and decisions are made, how councillors and officers work, how councils are funded and how money is spent. Training and support will be provided and relevant expenses covered.

Those wishing to join the IRP should be interested in the local area, be aged 18 or above and may have business experience or community based skills to offer.

People are usually appointed to the IRP for a period of four years with options to renew appointments for a further similar period. It is anticipated that the upcoming review of the Members’ Allowances Scheme will require the panel to meet three times.

Full reviews of the scheme usually take place every four years to help ensure that allowances and expenses are fit for purpose and reflect current trends. Partial reviews may also be carried within that period.

Anyone interested in applying to be on the panel can download an application pack and find out more information at scarborough.gov.uk/irp or alternatively contact Sandip Mahajan, Democratic Services Officer by emailing [email protected] or calling 01723 232310.

Applications should be submitted to Sandip by 5pm, Friday 30 November, by email or by post to Scarborough Borough Council, Town Hall, St Nicholas Street, Scarborough YO11 2HG. The interview date is provisionally scheduled for Thursday 13 or Friday 14 December.

St John Harris, Scarborough Borough Council Democratic Services Manager said: “We would encourage applications from people that are passionate about our borough, believe in a local democracy that works for all people and would like to help us ensure that councillors work effectively for the people they represent.”