Spotlight is shone on councillors' expenses (From Andover Advertiser)

Spotlight is shone on councillors' expenses

10:04am Monday 6th July 2009

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THE borough councillor who claimed 15 times the average amount in travelling and subsistence allowances last year has slashed his claims.

New figures show Conservative Councillor Horace Mitchell, who represents Highclere and Bourne at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and has just resigned from the borough Cabinet for personal reasons, claimed £916 in allowances. This was down from £3,541 in the 2007/08 financial year.

Referring to this year’s figures, Cllr Mitchell said: “I’m not very good at filling in forms. I significantly under-claimed what I was entitled to.”

Last year, Cllr Mitchell (right) defended his claim by saying his Cabinet position meant he had to attend a lot of meetings at the council offices, which involved a round trip of 40 miles from his home in Woolton Hill.

Other councillors who made sizeable reductions in their travel and subsistence claims this year include Labour’s Cllr Gerry Traynor down £490 to £35, Liberal Democrat Cllr Paula Baker, down £298 to £273, Conservative Cllr John Leek, down £250 to £354 and independent Cllr Martin Biermann, down £231 to £343.

The two biggest claimants in 2008/09 were Cabinet members Cllr Clive Sanders and Cllr James Lewin.

Cllr Sanders, who claimed £1,739 – up £1,358 – said his claim was all mileage and the increase was the result of extra journeys he had to make in his first full year as a Cabinet member.

The councillor, who represents East Woodhay, said he lived in North End, about 150 yards inside the borough’s North West border – about as far from Basingstoke town centre as it is possible to get.

He said: “A retired chap cannot afford not to claim it. If I lived in Basingstoke, I wouldn’t make any claim. We shouldn’t have a situation where any resident of the disbarred from being a councillor because of where they live.”

Cllr Lewin, who lives in and represents Burghclere, said he made a 30-mile round trip at 40p a mile an average of three times a week when the council was operating.

“It’s a long way to come in and so one does claim,” he said.

He doubted many members had claimed subsistence and called for that part to be split from the travel aspect of the allowance.

An independent panel recommends the level of the other allowances paid to councillors, although last year councillors rejected the panel’s suggested increase.

Cllr Andrew Finney, who is entitled to a £21,300 special responsibility allowance for being council leader, received the highest total allowances – £26,822.

Second was Cllr Sanders who received £18,776. He is entitled to a £10,650 special responsibility allowance as a Cabinet member.

The highest non-Conservative recipient was Cllr Baker, whose £13,752 included £7,092 special responsibility allowance for being leader of the opposition last year.

Excluding those not re-elected in May 2008, or who were not fresh faces to the council chamber, 14 councillors claimed no more than the £6,387 basic allowance.

In total, more than £550,000 was paid out to 68 councillors who served at some point during the 2008/09 financial year, and four lay people co-opted to serve on the borough’s standards committee.

Do you have a view on the issue of councillors’ expenses?

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