The article "Councillors claim more than £780,000" (The Argus, July 28) was misleading. As chair of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP), I would like to set the record straight.

Firstly, the members of the IRPwere appointed following advertisements in the local Press and those adverts stated emphatically that members of the panel "should not be actively involved in local or national party politics". Your article is wrong, therefore, to show the payments as "Other political expenses".

Secondly, the article suggests the IRP "rubber stamps" the claims. This is simply not true.

The panel carries out a thorough assessment of the time commitment and workloads of each of the 54 councillors, undertakes a full and ongoing review programme, observes committee meetings and interviews councillors in order tobe better informed.

It also makes comparisons with authorities of a similar size and complexity to Brighton and Hove City Council, such as the unitary authorities of Southampton and Nottingham, the county councils of East and West Sussex and the London Borough of Croydon.

Chichester and Worthing are both much smaller district councils and therefore inappropriate for comparison.

As part of the panel's review process, advice is also sought from national bodies and recognised experts in this field before preparing the annual report and submitting recommendations to the council. Any decisions made are, of course, those of the council itself.

Finally, councillors do not "claim" their basic allowances as the piece says, any more than council staff "claim" their salaries.

A democratic decision was made that these are the sums councillors should receive and the process used is entirely transparent, with all the details actively published on the council website and through the media each year.

  • Simon Keane, chair Independent Remuneration Panel, Brighton and Hove City Council


  • With more than £780,000 paid last year in allowances and expenses for part-time, supposedly "voluntary work", some of our councillors received more than many Brighton or Hove citizens get for full-time employment.

They only make policy decisions. The work is done by full-time employees. The expenses bill has got out of hand.

Councillors chose to do this work and while they should receive a reasonable allowance for their work for the community, they should not make outrageous expense claims which play a large part in increasing our council tax.

  • Jacque Lintell Lynchet Walk, Brighton