Absent councillors can claim £10,000 for nothing
Friday, 30 January 2009 12:00 AM
By Laura Miller
Councillors will soon be allowed to stay at home instead of attending meetings and vote by remote control - but still claim thousands in expenses.
Ministers are continuing to back plans that would encourage "remote" voting at council meetings, despite facing heavy criticism from other MPs.
Caroline Spelman, shadow communities and local government secretary, said the plans were "incredible" given that average council tax bill rises from £1,373 to £1,421 from April.
She acknowledged the hard work of many councillors but predicted "Labour's plans for armchair voting and couch potato councillors will create real cynicism amongst hard-pressed taxpayers."
The Conservatives are opposed to the proposals that they have said would mean councillors keeping their £10,000 expense budget despite an obvious reduction in their costs.
Under the new plans, the only obligation on councillors is to be on hand to monitor the local chamber by phone or over the internet.
Voting would be done at the click of a mouse or a dial of a button, without the cost of transport to and from chambers.
The measures open up the possibility for councillors to hold down a second job, or take part in leisure activities such as watching television, until they are needed to vote, said the Tories.
"Local councillors have a vital role in standing up for local communities - but local decision-making must be open, transparent and public," added Ms Spelman.
Human contact is an essential part of council business is the message from other ministers, whose worries over the plans have reached the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
The department admitted the "most common concern raised was that remote attendance and voting is contrary to the work of the council". Results from a consultation revealed "councillors had to meet face to face to get the best out of their meetings with each other", while the public expected to see councillors at work.
But the DCLG was confident it could overcome objections, and will push to make the proposals law.
Ministers are also planning to tackle low turnouts in local elections by handing out gifts and prizes to persuade people to vote.
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