All councillors receive a basic allowance to perform their duties which include:
- preparing for and attending formal and informal meetings
- meetings with residents
- dealing with enquiries from residents.
The basic allowance also covers the use of a councillor's home for conducting Medway Council business.
Some councillors receive an extra allowance for any special responsibilities (SRAs) they might have as a member of the council, such as being a Cabinet member or a committee chairman.
See allowances paid to councillors by year
Expenses
Councillors are allowed to claim travelling expenses for their official duties at the rates set out by His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The rate is currently set at 45 pence per mile for the first 8,500 miles and up to 14.4 pence per mile thereafter.
Councillors are also allowed to claim expenses for caring responsibilities, either for a child under 14 or a dependent adult.
Expenses for lunch, stationery, phone calls and other routine expenses are not normally reimbursed because this is covered by the basic allowance.
Find out more about the current allowance and expenses scheme in Chapter 6 of the council's constitution.
The Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP)
The IRP regularly reviews the council's allowances and expenses scheme.
It meets on a regular basis and no one on the panel is a councillor or council employee.
Any recommendations the panel makes is based on:
- evidence
- comparison with other local authorities
- interviews with councillors
- examples of good practice.
IRP report
The council last considered a report from the IRP in January 2024. We agreed the Members' Allowance Scheme for Medway Councillors for the 2023 to 2027 electoral term.
The agreed scheme includes that until May 2027:
- the basic allowance paid to all councillors should continue to be index-linked to the median council staff hourly pay
- the levels of special responsibility allowances (SRA) stay unchanged and links to the basic allowance, as shown by a percentage
- the Independent Person who sits on the Audit Committee receives a SRA of 10% of the basic allowance. This should be uplifted each time the basic allowance is uplifted
- the SRA to the members of the Licensing Hearing Panel and Licensing 1982 Panel Hearings continue to be index-linked to the median council staff hourly pay
- councillors be able to claim the actual expenses incurred for childcare and dependent adult care whilst undertaking approved duties, rather than a maximum hourly rate
- an SRA is paid to the councillor representatives on the Fostering or Adoption Panels at the rate of the median council staff hourly rate.