MEMBERS of Kirklees Council will receive a 2% increase in their allowances from April 1 taking the basic amount paid to each elected councillor to £13,627 – an increase of £267.

The move will bring councillors’ payments into line with a similar increase earmarked for council officers, which will also come into effect from next month and run until March 31, 2020.

The rise follows a recommendation by the Members Allowances Independent Review Panel (MAIRP), which met in November last year to advise the council on the appropriate level of remuneration.

They looked at the roles councillors are expected to fulfil, the varying roles of different councillors, and practice elsewhere and other local authorities.

On top of his basic allowance Council Leader Shabir Pandor will see his special responsibility allowance go up from £25,155 to £25,658.

The Deputy Leader’s allowance increases to £19,243 from £18,866.

Veteran councillor David Sheard (Lab, Heckmondwike) is stepping down at this May’s elections.

Cabinet members Councillors Peter McBride, Graham Turner, Naheed Mather, Viv Kendrick, Masood Ahmed and Mus Khan will receive an increase of £245, taking their individual allowances to £12,519.

The chair of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, Cllr Julie Stewart-Turner, and Group leaders with more than 30 members (Cllr Pandor) will each receive £11,267.

Group leaders with seven to 29 members (Cllr David Hall for the Conservatives, Cllr John Lawson for the Lib Dems) get £10,016, as do business managers for groups with more than 30 members (Cllr Mohan Sokhal for Labour).

Business managers for groups with 20-29 councillors receive £7,512. The Conservatives currently have 18 councillors in the chamber.

Chairs of planning committees (Cllrs Steve Hall, Terry Lyons, Paul Kane) receive £6,620 as do lead members of scrutiny panels (Cllrs Cahal Burke, Liz Smaje, Gulfum Asif, Rob Walker).

Members of West Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel (Cllrs Amanda Pinnock for Labour, and Cleckheaton's Andrew Pinnock for the Lib Dems) each receive £6,120.

Business managers for groups with seven to 19 councillors (Cllr Cahal Burke for the Lib Dems) receive £5,009, as does the chair of the Licensing and Safety Committee (Cllr Carole Pattison for Labour).

Group leaders with two to six councillors (Cllr Andrew Cooper for the Greens, Cllr Charles Greaves for the Independents) receive £3,757. The same amount is paid to Cllr John Taylor as deputy leader of the Conservative Group along with Cllr Nosheen Dad as chair of the Appeals Panel.

The chair of the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee (Cllr Hilary Richards) receives £2,503 as does Cllr Eric Firth as chair of Standards Committee and Cllr Karen Allison (Green Group business manager).

Adoption Panel members receive £1,251. The day rate for Fostering Panel members is £116.

Members of the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee who met at Huddersfield Town Hall agreed to pass the MAIRP report to full council for approval.

However Cllr Ken Sims (Con, Holme Valley South) highlighted that the Standards Committee, which met three times last year, cost £834 per meeting.

In response Julie Muscroft, the council’s legal, governance and commissioning officer, said there had been an increase in complaints and issues raised around standards and that the figure did not just relate to attendance but also workload and the chair’s role in decision-making.

Payment of the Standards allowance will be reviewed after 12 months.