Hyndburn councillors vote to give themselves pay rise

Hyndburn's Full Council meeting on Thursday approved the re-instatement of the annual increases to the basic and special responsibility payments for 2025/26 and the following three years.

The allowances have been frozen since 2015/2016.

Currently Hyndburn councillors receive an annual basic payment of £4,634, cabinet members get an extra £8,110 annually, rising to £21,594 for the authority leader Cllr Munsif Dad.

Conservative opposition leader Cllr Zak Khan gets an additional £6,961and planning chair Cllr Dave Parkins received £6,951.

Scrutiny committee chairs also get an extra £6,719.

Tory group leader Zak Khan said councillors deserve the rise A report to the meeting by Cllr Dad, following a review of the members expenses scheme by the council’s Independent Remuneration Panel, said: "It is recommended that council agree to enable basic and special responsibility allowances to be increased annually by the same percentage rate of increase as the National Joint Council (NJC) award for council employees with effect from April 1 2025, noting that this will only be permissible for the next four financial years without a further report from the independent remuneration panel.

"By law, the council must have a scheme for the payment of members’ allowances which must provide for payment of a basic allowance.

"The last significant change to members expenses occurred in 2011/12 when the council revised its members allowance scheme to reduce members allowances to 2009/10 levels.

Council leader Munsif Dad put forward the report "The council’s members allowances scheme provides for basic and special responsibility allowances to be increased on April 1 each year in line with the NJC local government pay award and, between 2011/12 and 2015/16, members allowances were therefore increased on this “inflation only” basis.

"However, the law only permits 'inflation only' increases to be made for four consecutive years without the benefit of a remuneration panel report.

"No such report has been presented to council since 2011/12 and the allowances paid to members have therefore remained unchanged since 2015/16.

"As the members allowances scheme has not been reviewed for several years, the Leaders Policy Development Board met on July 29 and agreed unanimously to reconvene the independent remuneration panel.

"The leaders board considered it was appropriate to reinstate the annual inflationary increase, given that no such increase had been made since 2015/16."

Backing the increase Cllr Khan said: "Councillors work exceptionally hard and put a lot of time into their role and I think that should be reflected in these payments."