Absent councillors will not be asked to pay back allowances to Rotherham Council

The leader of Rotherham Council has said councillors who recently left or were removed from the council for non-attendance will not be asked to pay back any allowances.
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Labour’s Leon Allcock was removed from his position on May 1, shortly after Richard Price resigned, after both had a prolonged period of absence from council meetings.

Labour's Katherine Wilson was also removed from the council on May 1, under a rule that requires members to attend at least one meeting every six months.

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During a question and answer session at the council, Coun Clive Jepson, an Independent, asked Coun Chris Read, council leader, if he agreed the councillors had ‘failed to represent the residents that elected them’.

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Coun Jepson said: “Does the leader of the council agree the three councillors who were removed from office on May 1 for non-attendance of council meetings for six months not only failed to properly represent the residents that elected them, but should also be asked to repay the council the allowances they received over this period?"

Coun Read said: “It’s regrettable we have three members who were unable to fulfil their duties. It’s right they are no longer members of this council.

“I will stop short of asking for their money back, because I think their individual circumstances were different and it's not for any of us to get involved in the situations in people’s lives they find themselves in.

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“They had, in effect, a contract with the council, that they receive their allowances for that six-month period. I'm not going to challenge that at this stage.”

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