Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Councillors Get Older with few Shifts in Diversity
In association with the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Improvement and Development Agency for local government (IDeA), the National Council for Educational Research has just published the fifth National Census of Local Authority Councillors.
Key findings and comparisons
Replies were received from 385 – or 99.7 per cent – of the 386 local authorities in England and from 8,895 – or 45 per cent – of councillors in office.
Key findings and comparisons
- 99.6 per cent of councillors are white, and just 3.4 per cent are from an ethnic minority – the same percentage as in 1997. A much higher proportion of the adult population are from an ethnic minority background – 9.5 per cent.
- The number of female councillors has risen to 30.8 per cent. This represents a change of 7.6 per cent since 1997 but is still well below the proportion of women in the adult population – 52.0 per cent.
- The average age of councillors has increased from 55 years in 1997 to 59 years in 2008, and the proportion under 45 has fallen from 18.4 per cent to 13.1 per cent over the same period.
- Councillors spent, on average, 22.2 hours per week on council and or political business, and 81.8 per cent of the councillors surveyed would recommend the role to others.
- Nine out of ten councillors has received training and development opportunities in the last year. Just under half would welcome the opportunity to gain a formal qualification or recognition of their work as a councillor.
Replies were received from 385 – or 99.7 per cent – of the 386 local authorities in England and from 8,895 – or 45 per cent – of councillors in office.
Tags for Forum Posts: councillors, government papers, research, study
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anthony on
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Hmm, I would be interested in the proportion of them who have full time jobs. Working 40 - 50 hours a week and then adding on 22 hours leaves not a lot of time to spend with family or recreation (would be interested in the views of councillors on this site). Maybe that makes me not community minded enough........
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Do all councillors get some payment now or is it just cabinet members? I know they all claim expenses.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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I think all councillor get an allowance of around £10k. I think with cabinet pay, that goes up to aorunf £35k. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
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Taken from Haringey Council's website;
Will I get paid for duties as a councillor?
There is no salary for being a councillor. However, you will be paid an allowance to reimburse you for time and expenses incurred whilst on Council business.
For more information about the Members’ Allowance Scheme please see Part 6 of the Council Constitution.(lots of info here)
You are correct Hugh. Basic allowance is £10,500, which covers time spent and also travelling and phone expenses. Here's a pdf link with info of Member's Allowances Scheme.
5. SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITY ALLOWANCES
5.01 Haringey Council will allocate Special Responsibility Allowances in four bands, to Councillors who take on certain additional roles. Note: the allowances below include basic & special responsibility;
Band 4
• Leader £41,997
Band 3
• 9 x Cabinet Members
• Opposition Leader
• Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee
£34,122
Band 2• Chair of General Purposes Committee
• Chief Whip
• Chair of Planning Committee
• Chair of Licensing Committee
• Chair of Alexandra Palace and Park Board
• Chair of Audit Committee
• Chair of Pensions Committee
• Opposition Deputy Leader
• Opposition Chief Whip
• 6 x Councillors on Overview and Scrutiny Committee
£26,250
Band 1
7 x Chairs of Area Assemblies
£18,375
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