ALLOWANCES for councillors in Malvern will not be increased after councillors voted to keep them as they are.

At the full council meeting on July 21, councillors were asked to approve plans which would have seen their allowances increase for the next year.

However, councillors decided not to in light of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the economy.

Leader of the council Sarah Rouse said: "Every year this comes up and it is always difficult, but given where we are in the pandemic and with the financial crisis and recession looming, as well as unemployment figures rising, I personally do not think this is the time for us to increase our allowances or to be looking at any of this."

Councillors were being asked to increase their allowances following the report of the council's Independent Remuneration Panel, which writes an annual report on councillors' allowances.

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The proposal was to increase the allowances of each councillor by two per cent from £4,437 to £4,526.

Cllr Rouse was joined by councillors from all groups in agreeing the time was not right to be asking taxpayers to pay more.

Labour councillor Samantha Charles agreed with the move, saying: "I am really pleased at this. Reading the report gave me an uncomfortable feeling that we might do this when people are really struggling."

Deputy leader Tom Wells said the move was the right thing to do considering how the district's economy has been affected by the coronavirus crisis.

He said: "I am delighted to second this proposal. I think it is wrong for us to do anything other than postpone any change to council allowance structures for the next 12 months."

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The Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) was appointed by the Council to carry out reviews of the allowances paid to Councillors, as required by the Local Government Act 2000 and subsequent legislation.

The report acknowledges the difficult financial situation, saying: "The purpose of allowances is to help enable people from all walks of life to become involved in local politics if they choose.

"The Panel does, however, acknowledge that in the current challenging financial climate there are difficult choices for the Council to make.

"Ultimately it is for the Council to decide how or whether to adopt the recommendations that we make.