Councillors divided after losing access to pensions

11:10am Tuesday 1st January 2013 in Local

BOLTON councillors have produced mixed reactions to the news that they can no longer qualify for local government pension schemes.

Brandon Lewis, the undersecretary of state for communities and local government, has announced the launch of a consultation on plans to stop councillors’ access to taxpayer-funded pension schemes from April 2014.

He said the current set-up contributed to a “corrosive influence on local democracy”

which “blurred the distinction between council staff and councillors”.

He said: “Councillors are volunteers undertaking public service.

“They are not professional, full-time politicians, nor should they be encouraged to become so.”

Cllr Linda Thomas, Bolton Council’s deputy leader and Labour councillor for Halliwell, said: “The role of local councillors now is as demanding on time and effort as it is on those in national office.

“Many councillors forgo their careers and hence the ability to increase their pension contributions, which would have been the case if they not been elected as councillors to serve the public.

“Once again the government is jumping on the populist band wagon, downgrading the worth of local councillors, which will do nothing to encourage those on low incomes and women who often juggle families, jobs and their council duties to become local voices for their communities.”

Bolton Conservative leader Cllr David Greenhalgh said: “I welcome the proposals.

“I have always disagreed with taxpayers’ money contributing to make up councillors’ pensions and have thought it wrong that councillors were ever included in the council pension scheme.

“I do not take advantage of the scheme and never have.”

Conservative deputy leader Cllr Andy Morgan said: “Councillors are not employees of the council and should never have been given the opportunity to join the scheme in the first place.

“When we are in such financial dire straits, such perks which are costing the taxpayer have to be sacrificed.”

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Roger Hayes disagreed with the plans.

He said: “I have never taken up the option of the local government pension scheme as I am well covered by pensions earned in my employment in private industry.

“I do not believe that any of my group is in the scheme either.

“However, I believe it is right that younger councillors, who often give many hours of work for their constituents, should be able to go into the scheme if they wish, so I regret the decision of the government.”

Comments(16)

binmans wages reduced says...
11:33am Tue 1 Jan 13

Bolton does not need 60 councillors, the town could be run by 40 councillors , but turkeys wont vote for christmas, will they?

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oftbewildered2 says...
12:23pm Tue 1 Jan 13

I e-mailed my Councillor with a specific problem - no reply.

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Rocket_Scientist says...
12:23pm Tue 1 Jan 13

I think it will need more than this sob story to win over our hearts and minds before this coming May; a lot of our local councillors best get some work in before then.

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boydell says...
12:49pm Tue 1 Jan 13

Am I right in believing that councillors get paid expenses?. If so I would like to know HOW MUCH ? If this is the case there are some who are husband and wife. Does this mean that the expenses are doubled. No wonder there are so many councillors. With all the perks, expenses, days out at the tax payers expense and pensions it seems to me that being a councillor is a nice little earner. Might just run myself at the next election !!.

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steveG says...
1:26pm Tue 1 Jan 13

Remuneration for councillors was implemented by the last labour government,before which they only qualified for minimal expenses.Not only has this proved unsustainable but the quality of person now joining the rank of councillor has deteriorated to a level which most of us wouldn't want to stoop.

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boltonnut says...
1:44pm Tue 1 Jan 13

Councillors are people who are to lazy to work.........

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boydell says...
1:48pm Tue 1 Jan 13

steveG wrote:
Remuneration for councillors was implemented by the last labour government,before which they only qualified for minimal expenses.Not only has this proved unsustainable but the quality of person now joining the rank of councillor has deteriorated to a level which most of us wouldn't want to stoop.
Does anyone know how much they get in expenses Steve ?
Simple question -simple answer !!

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Beyond News Forum says...
2:14pm Tue 1 Jan 13

Pensions? WT absolute F are they?

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raggadaddy says...
4:00pm Tue 1 Jan 13

Look on the Bolton Council website - it tells you there how much they receive

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berushka says...
5:28pm Tue 1 Jan 13

To Cllr Thomas: of course you disagree, because you are a labour sheep. But the simple answer is, if they don't like having to put the time in, then they should not stand for election. Most of them do it for the glory of saying, 'I am a Councillor, and look how much I get in expenses, perks, free meals, free parking, paid time off work'. Don't kid us that they do it for the love of their constituents. If they did, they would listen to the voters and respond, not dictate their stupid, ill-thought out ideas that do nothing but ruin the town.

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Tel30 says...
6:45pm Tue 1 Jan 13

Best news for ages!

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Beyond News Forum says...
8:25pm Tue 1 Jan 13

Quote: “I do not take advantage of the scheme and never have.”

*coffs* Sounds like a conscious to me... guilty one?

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Hulton Park says...
6:55am Thu 3 Jan 13

Locally, sad to say (and not just in Bolton), there is a breed of councillor that views the role as an alternative career.

Plus, get yourself on to one or more of the Greater Manchester quangos, and you're made - a job for life, barring anything actually criminal. No-one to vote you off and even demonstrable, rank incompetence won't shift you.

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Hulton Park says...
7:03am Thu 3 Jan 13

binmans wages reduced wrote:
Bolton does not need 60 councillors, the town could be run by 40 councillors , but turkeys wont vote for christmas, will they?
I've often wondered why we still have multi-member wards, when parliament scrapped multi-member constituencies decades ago.

We have twenty wards in Bolton. We could increase the number of wards to thirty, making them more local, but with only one councillor in each.

This would also rid us of the painful three-yearly cycle of elections - with single-member wards,a clean sweep of the Council would be much easier and quicker if the electorate were unhappy.

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Hulton Park says...
7:08am Thu 3 Jan 13

boydell wrote:
steveG wrote: Remuneration for councillors was implemented by the last labour government,before which they only qualified for minimal expenses.Not only has this proved unsustainable but the quality of person now joining the rank of councillor has deteriorated to a level which most of us wouldn't want to stoop.
Does anyone know how much they get in expenses Steve ? Simple question -simple answer !!
Bolton's 60 councillors were paid £867,531.95 in allowances in the last financial year (source: Bolton Council). So on average, £14, 459.87 each.

Travel and expenses were on top of that.

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sallyupsteps says...
3:24pm Thu 3 Jan 13

The ratepayers were better served when we had indendant coucillors. At least they were in it for the public good. Bring back some conviction politicians not lickspittle time servers making the most of the expenses scam. Why should they have access to a pension scheme? Let them make their own provisions as all the small shopkeepers that they are driving out of business have to. Another worrying aspect of the job seem to be the way that seats are passed around between father and sonsdaughters. When did we institute a right to inherit a public office?

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