A COUNCILLOR has questioned the amount paid to committee chairmen.

A recommendation to increase councillors' basic pay and special bonuses for chairmen was dropped before a council vote on allowances.

But the other recommendations put forward by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Worcestershire district councils were approved at the Malvern Hills District Council meeting.

Cllr David Harrison proposed to defer the approval of the allowances until further consideration had taken place.

He said the chairman of the audit committee Douglas Godwin has only attended two meetings so far this council year, lasting a total of 68 minutes, and receives £1,050.00.

The councillor added that the chairman of the licensing and appeals committee Mike Morgan gets £1,260.00 and has attended just one meeting, which was six minutes long.

He also noted that the standards committee chairman Chris Dell receives £1,050.00 but has only been to two meetings, lasting 34 minutes overall.

"I think at least those three posts are grossly overpaid for what they have done in the last financial year," he said.

The councillor added that the figures did not take into account the time spent writing reports.

Cllr Hannah Campbell, chairman of the overview and scrutiny committee, said the council needed to look at why the committees did not have enough to do.

Douglas Godwin said allowances were set by an independent body for all the work undertaken by chairmen, not just for the meeting which is meant to be short and businesslike.

"There is a considerable amount of preparation for any meeting and the agenda for audit is considerable, as a search of the council's website will show to you is the case," he said.

Cllr Godwin said it was a privilege to serve as a chairman and that he took the role very seriously.

Chris Dell said: "David is a conscientious councillor who does a lot of research before meetings and I always welcome his contributions."

Cllr Phil Grove, leader of the council, said: "The purpose of allowances is to enable people from all walks of life to become involved in local politics if they choose."

The proposal to defer the approval of allowances was defeated by 20 votes to 12 while the recommendations were approved by 27 votes to one.

Mike Morgan was unavailable for comment.