Councillors at cash-strapped Birmingham City Council have voted to delay pay increases for members.
The council, which was forced to declare effective bankruptcy in September, was considering a phased pay increase recommended by the city’s Independent Remuneration Panel last April.
It would have boosted the basic councillor allowance by 18%, from £18,876 to £19,744, over four years. The leader's allowance would have risen from £56,579 to £67,788 over the same period.
At a full council meeting on Tuesday, Labour council leader John Cotton moved an amendment, backed by opposition groups, to delay the pay rises, stressing that the council was in a ‘very different’ position from last April.
‘The serving of the section 114 notice, the severe financial challenges facing this council and the knowledge that in a couple of weeks we will be taking some incredibly difficult decisions that will result in cuts and potential losses of jobs means that we all need to reflect on what’s right and what’s appropriate in those circumstances.’
Conservative opposition leader Robert Alden backed the postponement but cautioned that it was important to ensure no one would be excluded from standing for election for financial reasons.
