Carmarthenshire councillors cut back on their expenses

Carmarthenshire county councillors have decided that they will not claim travel allowances for constituency duties, neither will they claim refunds for telephone or postal costs related to their work as councillors.
Members were unanimous in showing their favour for the decision when members’ salaries and allowances were discussed during the adjourned Annual Meeting of the council.
Cllr Pam Palmer, who proposed that members do not make such claims, said: “We are told all the time that bureaucracy will be reduced. As such, I propose that we decide not to claim such allowances.”
These were two areas of the Councillors’ and Co-opted Members’ Salaries and Allowances Scheme on which the members could use their discretion.
All other allowances and salaries are now statutory, having been set by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales.
During the meeting, several councillors welcomed the new statutory carer’s allowance, which allows members to claim back certain costs where they have to make provision for children or other dependants to be looked after in order to carry out council duties.
Leader, Cllr Kevin Madge, echoed the views of others, and said: “If we want people from all walks of life to become councillors, then we have got to help them to be here and to carry out their duties.”
A full version of the Councillors’ and Co-opted Members’ Salaries and Allowances Scheme is available on the council website – www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk