Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales meeting: 19 November 2024

• Frances Duffy, Chair
• Saz Willey, Vice Chair
• Bev Smith, member
• Kate Watkins, member
• Dianne Bevan, member
• Sara Rees, secretariat
• Leighton Jones, secretariat 

External stakeholders attending the meeting

Representatives from the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru

• Roger Ashton-Winter
• Cher Cooke  

The Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (the Panel) met on Tuesday 19 November. 

The aim of the meeting was to:

• Review and agree the minutes and summary of the October meeting, note the secretariat and budget updates and review and update the operational plan for 2024 to 2025.
• Consider and agree the following of papers presented to the Panel, including: 
  • a breakdown of all allowances paid to members of principal councils, fire and rescue authorities and national park authorities in 2023 to 2024
  • a breakdown of all allowances paid to members of community and town councils in 2023 to 2024
  • the remuneration of co-opted members at principal councils
  • review the updated legacy report

Below summarises the Panel’s discussions and decisions.

Actions, secretariat and budget updates

The Panel agreed the minutes and summary from the October meeting and noted the budget update.

The Panel reviewed and discussed correspondence received from 3 community and town councils and 2 principal councils and its response to each one.

Statement of payments 2023 to 2024: principal councils, fire and rescue authorities and national park authorities 

The Panel considered a paper on the statement of payments made to members of principal councils, fire and rescue authorities and national park authorities, for the year 2023 to 2024. 

The paper provided the Panel with a breakdown of all allowances paid, together with yearly trends over the last 5 years. This information helps form the basis for future work and to see how effective the remuneration framework is across Wales.

Statement of payments 2023 to 2024: community and town councils

The Panel considered a paper on the statement of payments made to members of community and town councils during 2023 to 2024.

The paper provided the Panel with a breakdown of all allowances paid, together with yearly trends over the last 5 years. This information helps form the basis for future work and to see how effective the remuneration framework is across Wales.

Legacy report

The Panel were provided with an update on the progress of the legacy report. This report will include areas of interest where further consideration may be needed in the future, such as youth representation and co-opted members. 

Remuneration of co-opted members of principal councils

The Panel were presented with a paper on the remuneration of co-opted members for principal councils. The Panel are of the view that these rates should be linked to remuneration levels set by Welsh Government Public Bodies Unit as the most relevant benchmark but are minded to make no changes to the levels for 2025 to 2026. A final decision will be made after the close of consultation period.

The Panel finalised the stakeholder engagement sessions held during the consultation period of the draft annual report. The Panel met representatives from the community and town council sector and WLGA Group Leaders. The Panel also considered correspondence from a principal council related to senior salaries and noted the feedback received from the draft annual report to date.

The next meeting of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales will take place on 7 January 2025. 

Should you have any matters you wish to raise with the Panel, please do not hesitate to get in touch via the Secretariat by emailing IRPMailbox@gov.wales.