Letter regarding Senior Councillor expenses

Further to the article last week regarding the new Breckland Council Cabinet appointments, I would also like to add my congratulations to Councillor Ian Sherwood and Elizabeth Gould upon joining the Cabinet and to thank those departing Councillors whose services are deemed no longer required. I would however like to pick up on one point in the article. Leader of the Conservative run Council Mr Nunn states; “As we face unprecedented challenges in local Government...” Indeed, Breckland like many other authorities are looking to cut services in response to diminishing funds being handed to them by Central Government. Whilst looking at his Cabinet, Mr Nunn should also be looking at how much those Councillors that hold these positions actually get paid. A Breckland Cabinet member gets £11,050 annually – on top of the £5,200 they get paid for being a Councillor. This compares very favourably to the £6,600 that the same position gets in Kings Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council, the £5,700 in St Edmunsbury and the £4,600 in South Norfolk. In addition to this, Breckland Cabinet members get an additional level of support through the ‘Executive Support Member’ role, the Councillor that holds this post gets an extra £1,850 a year on top of their Councillor salary – this is a role that does not exist in many councils and one has to wonder why it is required particularly when Cabinet members themselves are paid so well. Indeed, as Leader of Breckland, Mr Nunn gets an additional £20,700 a year (plus his £5,200) whilst the Leaders of Kings Lynn & West Norfolk (£14,760), St Edmunsbury (£10,638) and South Norfolk (£9,250) are all paid considerably less. Mr Nunn of course also gets an additional £8,929 annually for also being a Norfolk County Councillor. Should Breckland not be following the Government’s line of “we’re all in this together” and looking to reduce their own allowances, especially if they are looking to make drastic cuts to the services provided to local people. Councillor salaries are often regarded as a ‘cheap shot’ when looking for cuts, however, I am a strong defender of councillors receiving a remuneration for the many hours work that they put in – indeed, I would not be able to undertake my role as a Councillor if it were not for the £5,200 that I receive and the extra £2,600 that I receive for being Leader of the Opposition (strangely somewhat less that neighbouring authorities) but that remuneration should be fair and balanced and when compared to neighbouring areas, clearly that is not the case currently.