All the members of a independent financial body resigned this afternoon in protest after Conservative councillors on Surrey County Council (SCC) voted to increase their allowances by up to 60 per cent.

Last Tuesday, SCC considered recommendations for changes to the basic and special responsibility allowances paid to councillors, which were last increased in July 2010.

A report by the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) had made recommendations for changes to the different allowances paid to councillors - but, for some of these, Conservative councillors tabled amendments, without prior notice.

The IRP recommended that the special allowance paid to the leader of the council be increased from £27,000 to £35,548.  The Conservative councillors bumped this up to £43,000.

They also voted to increase the deputy leader’s special allowance from £19,500 to £31,250 - even though the IRB had recommended a rise to £30,333.

But the council accepted the IRP’s suggestion that the basic allowance of the 81 councillors be increased from the current £11,791 to £12,418.

The changes take the allowances paid to the leader of the council up to £55,418 -  a more than 60 per cent increase.

The move was immediately slammed by the other parties who pointed out that it adds more than £200,000 to the current £1.3million bill for councillors’ pay.

And all three members of the IRP announced their resignation this afternoon, saying councillors had passed significant increases to their allowances which are "not supported by any evidence".

Cathy Rollinson, chairman of the panel, said: "This flagrant disregard for the carefully considered recommendations of its own IRP has left us with no alternative but to resign.

"Like most members of the public, we do not believe that it is right for councillors to award themselves pay rises, against the advice of an independent panel.

"The IRP, after much research and consideration, recommended a scheme that reflected the responsibility attached to each role, the time needed to fulfil those duties and a comparison with allowances paid by councils similar to Surrey.

"The allowance awarded for every single one of the special responsibility roles undertaken by councillors is higher than that proposed by the IRP.

"The council also rejected the panel’s suggestion that the increases be phased in over several years, deciding to implement them all with immediate effect. 

"The IRP also proposed that councillors should provide taxpayers with an annual online report, outlining how they had fulfilled their roles.  This recommendation was not even discussed by the council."

Residents’ Association and Independent councillors on SCC criticised the increased allowances at a time when the council is plannning to save £72 million in this financial year. 

Councillor Nick Harrison, leader of the Residents’ Association and Independent group of councillors, who represent Nork and Tattenhams, said: "There is a total lack of common-sense and affordability within the new allowances scheme forced through by the Conservative majority of the county council.

"An independent panel took the time and effort to properly consider what level of public money should be used to reimburse councillors for their work in the community.

"Most of the panel’s recommendations were rejected or twisted in such a way that they favour the executive roles within the council while stripping away some of the importance placed on people who scrutinise how vital public services are managed and funded."

Eber Kington, Residents’ Association councillor for Ewell Court, Auriol and Cuddington, added: "This is another occasion when the Conservatives at SCC have written their own cheque to be cashed once again using public funds.

"The council taxpayer will be paying over 70 per cent more for the leader and cabinet than 18 months ago.  That’s too much, too soon, for too many.

"At a time when the public is still seething about bankers’ bonuses and expenses for MPs, the Tory administration treat them with contempt and vote through pay rises for themselves, some of which amount to a 60 per cent rise."

On today’s resignation, a SCC spokeswoman said: "We have acknowledged the panel members' resignations and thanked them for their service.

"The Government has given county councils 42 new responsibilities since 2010 and these have increased the workload for the cabinet and other senior councillors.

"There has been no review of allowances for four years and while that was the right thing to do at the time it is now important that they are adjusted to reflect increases in roles and responsibilities."

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