WE were pleased to see local media and residents taking an active interest in the allowances and expenses paid to local councillors.

We feel it essential that elected representatives are fully accountable and would like to draw attention to some additional information that might help complete the full picture.

The total allowances paid to councillors in the Vale of Glamorgan for the last financial year were £108,773, or 11 per cent, less than those of the final year of the previous Conservative administration in 2011/12. Expenses claimed have also dropped, from £7.7k per year to £3.7k, and none of the current cabinet claims expenses even though fully entitled to do so. An individual councillor's basic allowance has dropped from £13,868 to £13,175 and a cabinet member's allowance is down from £31,204 in 2011/12 to £28,779 in 2013/14. Up to now only 16 of the 18 special responsibility allowances have been allocated although that has recently increased to 17 due to the Leader of the Independent Group now receiving an additional allowance.

The major savings however have come through the increased workload of cabinet members when the number of cabinet positions was reduced from 10 to seven by the current Labour/Llantwit First administration. So to clarify, councillors allowances are set by an independent remuneration panel and not by the local authority itself. They are divided into three bands, Cardiff is in the highest band and the Vale in the second. Full details of the panel’s deliberations and how they came to their recommendations are available on line and if readers would like further details of all councillors allowances and expenses over the past four years they are available at http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/our_council/council/councillors/Allowances%20for%20Members.aspx

Councillor Neil Moore

Councillor Stuart Egan

Councillor Bronwen Brooks

Councillor Lis Burnett

Councillor Rob Curtis

Councillor Chris Elmore

Councillor Gwyn John

Leader and Cabinet Members of the Vale of Glamorgan Council