A SOUTH Craven councillor has questioned delays over a report on members' allowances and expenses.

The amount paid to members of Craven Council is set by the council itself, following recommendations by the Independent Remuneration Panel.

They include the basic allowance paid to all councillors – currently £4,200 per year – and the additional special responsibility allowance of £2,100 paid to the chairmen of committees.

The independent panel has been consulting with party leaders since last year and a report with draft recommendations is due to be presented to the council's decision-making policy committee, although no firm date has yet been set.

Cllr Philip Barrett (Ind, Glusburn) has questioned the length of time it has taken and called on the process to be speeded up.

"Despite having raised it on numerous occasions this report continues to held up by the Conservative leadership," said Cllr Barrett.

"When I raised it again at full council, for Cllr Foster to state at this late stage that the views of the Conservative group hadn't been properly put forward is incredulous as all group leaders were contacted last October by the Independent Remuneration Panel to submit any comments from the respective groups.

"I promptly submitted the Independents' views stating they would strongly oppose any increases in member allowances. "

A spokesman for Craven Council said: “The Independent Remuneration Panel is carrying out final consultations with political groups on draft recommendations before bringing a report forward to council in the near future.”

The current members allowance scheme has been running since April, 2011, when the basic allowance was set at £4,200 per year.

On top of that, special responsibility allowances (SRA) included £7,500 for the council leader.