Elected councillors are paid an allowance to enable them to undertake their duties and, in addition, are legally entitled to claim certain expenses. Essex County Council publishes details of the
allowances and expenses incurred by councillors, on a quarterly basis.
Allowances
All county councillors receive a basic allowance of £11,500 to enable them to undertake their duties. These duties include:
- Being accessible and available to all residents in their electoral division
- Preparing for and attending all formal and informal meetings they are invited to
- Representing the interests of the whole council area.
Some councillors who have special responsibilities, such as cabinet members, are also entitled to receive a special responsibility allowance.
Expenses
Councillors are allowed to claim for travel expenses they incur whilst on council business. Councillors are encouraged to use public transport and car sharing where it is appropriate. Taxi fares are only reimbursed if it is not practical for the councillor to use his/her own car or to use public transport.
Councillor’s expenses must be claimed in accordance with the provisions set out in the
Members Allowance Scheme. The following process was approved by Full Council on 11 May 2010:
- all claims are submitted to the Lead Governance Officer for review and checking against the allowance scheme, ensuring that claims are for approved duties and receipts are provided for all expenses, including fuel VAT receipts where mileage is claimed
- any resulting queries are referred back to the individual member for further information
- providing claims are submitted in accordance with the allowance scheme, those submitted by cabinet members and the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the council are passed to the Executive Director for Finance for sign-off; all others are signed-off by the Lead Governance Officer
- claim forms are then passed to Purchase 2 Pay (P2P) who scrutinise each claim for the following:
- that the form has been signed by the member and appropriate approver
- that vehicle details are fully completed, where applicable
- that the correct mileage figure and all other expenses have been recorded on the form against the appropriate cost code
Interests
Councillors must declare any business, financial or other interests that they have that could conflict with their duties as a county councillor.