THE cabinet members letter, ‘Allowances, the full picture’ (Barry and District News, June 5) contains a sentence which is a little confusing.

The sentence beginning ‘total allowances paid to councillors ….. for the last financial year were £108,773’ could be misunderstood since it is a figure comparing the total with two years before as explained in the second part of the sentence. The total payment to councillors for 2013/14 was £841,249.80. That was a reduction of 11 per cent so well done the current cabinet: but hang-on a moment.

The Welsh Government Remuneration Board prescribes maximum payments and for 2012/13 they decided to cut allowances by five per cent for basic and 10 per cent for special responsibility. A decision made well before the current cabinet came into being. Perhaps that was the more substantial matter for the reduction claimed in the cabinet’s letter. It goes on to say ‘the major savings …. Have come through the increased workload of cabinet members because they had reduced in number from 10 to seven, but wasn’t that a part of the senior management reorganisation advocated by the last cabinet?

Any cabinet member who feels they want to take a reduction in view of the financial austerity measures impacting on their communities will be pleased to know that, individual councillors can forgo all, or part, of their salaries if they so wish.

Dennis Harkus

FocusBARRY member