29 October 2004
Councillors in Scotland could receive a payoff of up to £30,000 if they volunteer to stand down at the next election, it emerged this week.
A remuneration panel set up by the Scottish Executive to examine councillors' allowances is understood to have recommended a package of measures that includes pensions and severance pay.
Opposition political parties described the scheme as a 'bribe', aimed at persuading long-serving councillors not to stand again.
The introduction of a proportional representation (PR) voting system at the 2007 local government elections was resisted by many Labour councillors who could become victims of the new system by having to stand down or risk losing their seats.
The remuneration panel, chaired by Lord Sewel, a former minister and ex-president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, is due to report soon but details of its recommendations have been leaked.
Designed to attract a wider range of people into a modernised local government system, the proposals are thought to include the doubling of existing allowances to provide a basic salary of £20,000 a year.
Councillors with special responsibilities would earn more. A pension scheme would be introduced for the first time.
The severance pay is likely to range between £10,000 and £30,000 depending on time served as a councillor, and would be regarded as compensation for those likely to lose out when the new voting scheme comes into operation. They will qualify only if they stand down and are unlikely to be compensated if they fight the election and lose their seats.
The higher figure would apply to councillors with more than 20 years' service. Ministers are keen to reduce the age profile of councillors.
Cosla president Pat Watters, a member of the Sewel committee, said councillors should be no different to other workers who might qualify for a severance package.
He added: 'We have had people recently standing down after 40 or 50 years service and all they got was a goodbye. In this day and age, that's simply unacceptable.'
Tricia Marwick, the Scottish National Party spokeswoman on local government, said: 'This is a bribe from the Labour-Liberal Executive to avoid them tearing themselves apart.'
A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said that when the Local Governance (Scotland) Bill was passed earlier this year, a commitment was given to establish an independent remuneration committee for councillors.
PFoct2004
