Row over allowances for Sheffield councillors as Greens argue to oppose independent panel decision

Green Party members wanted to overturn a recommendation of an independent review panel on members’ remuneration, which looked at special allowances for key roles. It decided not to give party spokespeople on committees the same allowance as deputy chairs.

The Greens argued that the recommendation should be reversed as a spokesperson for a political group does an equivalent amount of work on a committee to a deputy chair. As the council is currently under no overall control, political groups get committee chair and deputy chair jobs in proportion to the amount of seats they have on the council.

Where a party does not have a chair or deputy chair on a committee, their group is represented by a spokesperson.

The council has eight policy committees plus a finance committee. As the biggest group, Labour will chair four committees, Liberal Democrats three and the Green Party two.

Current allowances are £26,010 for the council leader and £13,500 for a deputy leader, policy committee chair or finance committee chair.

Unfair

Leaders of opposition groups with more than 20% of membership of the council get £10,404. This applies to LibDem leader Coun Shaffaq Mohammed.

Chairs of committees such as planning and highways, licensing, local area committees (LACs), audit and standards and policy sub-committees receive £7,803. Deputy chairs of committees, sub-committees and LACs receive £5,202.

Not on the list, the strategy and resources committee is chaired by the leader of the council and the deputy leader is deputy chair. New council leader is Cllr Tom Hunt and his deputies are his Labour colleagues Cllrs Fran Belbin and Ben Miskell.

Green Party deputy leader Cllr Angela Argenzio said it had become apparent that group spokespeople do the same amount of work as deputy chairs and it would be unfair not to recognise that.

LibDem Cllr Joe Otten said that, while he agreed in principle and had made the same argument, it would be unacceptable to overturn the independent panel’s decision. He wanted it to be reconsidered by the panel in a year’s time.

Cllr Belbin said she agreed with him.

Offensive

Green Cllr Paul Turpin retorted: “What Joe said I find deeply offensive – that he basically expects people to work for free or to have independent wealth and pensions, which is absolutely exclusive and abhorrent.

“When you have a normal member of a committee and six meetings a year and paid the same as somebody who might attend two meetings a week, where is the equity there, where is the fairness?”

Coun Mohammed responded: “We either have these panels and then abide by what they say or we just simply decide.” He rejected the idea of asking the panel to have another look at their decision.

He accused the Greens of trying to slip the idea through in an amendment when most members of the public were not present: “That’s not how things should be done and not how they will be done while I’m here anyway.”

Councillors voted 66-13 with one abstention to reject the Green amendment.

The LibDem amendment was agreed 63-14 with one abstention.

Full list of committee chairs:

Strategy and resources committee

Chair: Cllr Tom Hunt (Labour)

Deputy: Cllr Fran Belbin (Labour)

Liberal Democrat spokesperson: Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed

Green spokesperson: Cllr Douglas Johnson

Finance committee

Chair: Cllr Zahira Naz (Labour)

Deputy: Cllr Mike Levery (Liberal Democrat)

Green spokesperson: Cllr Toby Mallinson

Adult health and social care committee

Chair: Cllr Angela Argenzio (Green)

Deputy: Cllr Sophie Thornton (Liberal Democrat)

Labour spokesperson: Cllr Laura Moynahan

Education, children and families committee

Chair: Cllr Dawn Dale (Labour)

Deputy: Cllr Maroof Raouf (Green)

LiberalDem spokesperson: Cllr Mohammed Mahroof

Housing committee

Chair: Cllr Douglas Johnson (Green)

Deputy: Cllr Penny Baker (Liberal Democrat)

Labour spokesperson: Cllr Nabeela Mowlana

Transport, regeneration and climate committee

Chair: Cllr Ben Miskell (Labour)

Deputy: Cllr Christine Gilligan Kubo (Green)

LibDem spokesperson: Cllr Andrew Sangar

Economic development and skills committee

Chair: Cllr Martin Smith (Liberal Democrat)

Deputy: Cllr Minesh Parekh (Labour)

Green spokesperson: Cllr Henry Nottage

Waste and street scene committee

Chair: Cllr Joe Otten (Liberal Democrat)

Deputy: Cllr Mark Jones (Labour)

Green spokesperson: Cllr Alexi Dimond

Communities, parks and leisure committee

Chair: Cllr Richard Williams (Liberal Democrat)

Deputy: Cllr Janet Ridler (Labour)

Green spokesperson: Cllr Marieanne Elliot

To see the full list of councillors’ allowances for 2022-23, go to https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-04/members_allowances_and_expenses_-_1_april_2022_to_31_march_2023.pdf

Read this: Businessman worried about U-turn on red line routes

Read this: Petition calls for LibDems and Greens to run council