Allowance freeze for councillors

The figures, published by the Department for Communities, show that the basic allowance for councillors will remain at £15,071 per annum, the same as the 2019/2020 financial year.

The basic allowance includes an element for incidental and consumable costs incurred by councillors in their official capacity. This element accounts for £1,061 of a councillors basic allowance in the 2019/2020 financial year.

Councillors will, however, see an increase in the amount they are able to claim in Dependants’ Carers’ Allowance.

This allowance is payable towards the cost of employing another person to undertake a councillor’s caring responsibilities while they attend meetings.

The Standard Dependants’ Carers’ Allowance has increased from £8.21 an hour to £8.72 while the Specialist Depedendant’s Carers’ Allowance has increased from £16.42 to £17.44.

The maximum that can be claimed a month from the Standard Dependants’ Carers’ allowance is £454 while in the Specialist Dependants’ Carers’ Allowance category, the maximum that can be claimed is £907 a month.

A spokesperson for Council said that a councillor could claim this allowance one month, and then not again in any other month and that the council’s annual return of payments, published by the end of June, will show which councillors make qualifying claims.

Mileage rates have not changed since April 2017.

A councillor driving a car to attend council business is entitled to claim 65p per mile and an additional 5p per per mile, per passenger, if they are car pooling with fellow councillors.

Those who drive electric vehicles can claim up to 45p per mile while motorcycle riders can claim 24p per mile. Councillors who cycle to matters of council business are entitled to claim 20p per mile.

Special Responsibility Allowance payments are also available for top positions within council. These apply to posts such as Council Chair, Deputy Council Chair or committee chair.

The allowance would mean a maximum individual payment of £14,858 in addition to a councillor’s salary.

This sum applies to councils with a population of between 120,000 and 199,000 with a spokesperson for Council confirming this was the bracket in which Mid Ulster District Council is placed.

Adam Morton , Local Democracy Reporting Service