DOCUMENT CONTROL
| Author Dr Juliet Cross, Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer | |||
| Date | Version | Status | Description |
| 25/01/19 | 0.1 | Draft | Draft document circulated to councillors. |
| 07/02/19 | 0.1 | Draft | Document presented to Council Meeting held on 7 February 2019 and approved with amendments(Minute: 19.026). |
| 18/02/19 | 1.0 | Final | Amended document uploaded onto Council’s website. |
| 09/05/19 | 1.1 | Review | Policy approved by new Council at Annual Meeting of the Council held on 9 May 2019 with no amendments (minute 19.086). |
| Review Cycle Every four years at the Annual Meeting of the Council after the election of the parish councillors or in response to new or amended statutory requirements. Next review due May 2023. | |||
| Legislation and Regulation Policy based on Town and Parish Allowances Scheme for Mid Devon (December 2017)The Local Authorities (Members Allowances) Regulations 2003 |
INDEX
| 1. | INTRODUCTION | 3 |
| 2. | TRAVEL ALLOWANCE | 3 |
| 3. | SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE | 4 |
| 4. | ELECTED COUNCILLOR’S ALLOWANCE | 5 |
| 5. | ENTERTAINING – BUSINESS | 6 |
| 6. | PROCEDURE FOR CLAIMING TRAVEL AND EXPENSES | 6 |
| APPENDIX A – TRAVEL AND EXPENSES CLAIM FORM | 7 |
1. INTRODUCTION
Chawleigh Parish Council will reimburse councillors and employees for reasonable expenses wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred in connection with its business. Councillors and employees should not be either financially disadvantaged or advantaged because of genuine Parish Council expenses.
Councillors and employees are responsible for the payment of all expenses they incur, except where there are direct settlement arrangements with suppliers in place. Breach of this policy is a disciplinary offence. Deliberate falsification of a claim or the evidence needed to make a claim will constitute misconduct. Falsification includes the failure to pass on any discount obtained in the course of incurring an expense.
The following items are allowable expenses. In all cases councillors and employees should submit all invoices and receipts and complete a travel and expenses claim form that will be authorised by the Clerk or the Chairman of the Parish Council.
2. TRAVEL ALLOWANCE
The Parish Council will reimburse the reasonable costs of amounts necessarily expended on travelling in the performance of the duties of the employment, for example to events, external meetings or training. Consideration will not normally be given to claims for councillors travelling within the boundaries of the parish. For employees, this does not include travel between home and office unless the employee is recognised as being a “contractual home-based employee”.
Councillors and employees should travel by the most cost-effective mode of transport taking into account journey time and the nature of the journey as well as the monetary cost.
| 2.1 | Travel allowance Travel allowance will be paid under the following circumstances: When it has been agreed that a councillor or employee should attend a seminar, training or a networking event outside of Chawleigh parish;When it has been agreed that a councillor or employee should attend a meeting outside of Chawleigh parish on behalf of the Parish Council; andIn the case of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman or an agreed substitute, when invited to an event outside of Chawleigh parish where he/she will be representing the Parish Council. |
| 2.2 | Travel by car, motorcycle or cycle The mileage allowance is set by reference to the HM Revenue and Customs rules on approved mileage allowance payments. These are reviewed annually in April and are currently: Type of vehicle First 10,000 miles Above 10,000 miles Cars and vans 45p 25p Motorcycles 24p 24p Cycles 20p 20p If a councillor or employee carries any other councillor or employee in their own vehicle, that councillor or employee can claim 5p per passenger per business mile. The passengers must be councillors or employees and they must also be travelling on Parish Council business. Councillors and employees are required to keep track of business mileage incurred in the tax year (1 April to 31 March) to ensure the correct rates are used. Where a councillor employee uses their own vehicle, they should ensure that the vehicle is in good working order, fully insured, taxed and, where applicable, has a valid MOT certificate. On request, the councillor or employee may be required to provide the Parish Council with proof of a valid driving licence, insurance for the vehicle and, where applicable, a valid MOT certificate for the vehicle. Councillors and employees claiming car mileage allowance should be insured for business use (i.e. not just social, domestic and pleasure). |
| 2.3 | Travel by public transport Where appropriate, for example on longer distance journeys, consideration should be given to the feasibility of using public transport: By taxi – Councillors and employees are expected to use taxis only when strictly necessary and where it is cost effective to do so.By bus or tube – Councillors and employees should retain tickets or provide a printout of the journey cost. Where a season ticket already covers the cost of travel, no further claim will be allowed. By train – Councillors and employees should, as far as possible, travel standard class and should attempt to book their journeys in advance to obtain the best possible price. Where a season ticket already covers the cost of travel, no further claim will be allowed.By aeroplane – Where councillors or employees are required to travel to locations involving considerable distance, consideration should be given using air travel if that provides the Parish Council with the best value for money taking into account the travel time and possible hotel cost savings. |
| 2.4 | Car parking charges Where councillors or employees are required to pay a car parking fee for attending a meeting or event where no car parking facilities have been provided, such fees will be reimbursed on production of a valid receipt or car parking ticket for the period used. |
3. SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE
Subsistence allowances are only permitted when the councillor or employee is required to be out of the parish area in the course of their duties, e.g. for a training course, to cover the actual costs incurred up to the maximum amount permitted.
| 3.1 | Hotel accommodation Where it is necessary for a councillor or employee to stay in a hotel, the following will apply: Where the cost of the accommodation is included in the cost of the event, this will be invoiced to the Parish Council, following prior approval by the Parish Council. Where attendance at a meeting or event requires an overnight stay which is not included in the cost of the event, the cost of overnight accommodation will require prior approval by the Parish Council. Hotel accommodation should be booked in advance at the best possible rates. Councillors and employees should take into account the location of the hotel with regard to the cost of taxis and the time required to travel to and from the hotel. If the Parish Council cannot be invoiced, the Parish Council will repay the agreed cost to the councillor or employee on production of a receipt. |
| 3.2 | Subsistence – Overnight absence The Parish Council will reimburse all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the councillor or employee when it is necessary to stay away from home overnight on Parish Council business. This will include the following: Hotel bills (see 3.1 above);Meals (i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner) and beverages – to an overall maximum of £40 a dayCar parking (see 2.4 above). Additionally, the employee may claim personal incidental expenses up to a maximum of £5 per day. This covers such items as telephone calls, newspapers and laundry. If the councillor or employee is away for more than one night, the daily limits, i.e. £40 and £5, may be averaged across the number of nights that the individual is away. In all cases, a receipt for the meal or other items must be provided. The maximum allowance will only be paid when the costs of subsistence is equal to or greater than the maximum allowance. |
| 3.3 | Subsistence – No overnight absence A councillor or employee may claim actual costs incurred for meals and beverages up to a maximum of £20 per day when travelling on Parish Council business. This is intended to reimburse the individual for additional expense incurred as a result of having to travel on Parish Council business. Personal incidental expenses cannot be claimed where there is no overnight stay. In all cases, a receipt for the meal or other items must be provided. The maximum allowance will only be paid when the costs of subsistence is equal to or greater than the maximum allowance. |
4. ELECTED COUNCILLOR’S ALLOWANCE
Parish Councillors are not paid for their time spent on Parish Council business. The Local Authorities (Members Allowances) Regulations 2003 states that a Parish Council may pay a basic annual allowance to each of its elected councillors to cover incidental costs such as telephone calls, use of their own computer equipment, printer ink and paper for printing documents sent electronically, as well as the time commitment of councillors.
Under the present legislation, co-opted councillors are not permitted to receive the elected councillor’s allowance.
| 4.1 | Basic allowance scheme Introduction of a basic allowance scheme requires approval by Full Council. If a scheme is to be rolled out, the following options will be considered: How much basic allowance will be paid;Whether a basic allowance is paid to all councillors or just the Chairman; andWhether a higher amount of basic allowance is paid to the Chairman if all councillors are entitled to receive an allowance. |
| 4.2 | Basic allowance payments The elected councillor’s allowance is set by reference to the Mid Devon District Council’s Parish Remuneration Panel recommendations on the basic allowance payments. These were reviewed in 2017 and are currently: Number of electors % of District Basic Allowance 2017/18 Maximum amount per councillor per year 0 – 5,000 1% £49 5,001 – 10,000 2% £97 10,001 – 15,000 3% £146 15,001 and above 4% £195 This guideline sets out the maximum figure within which the Parish Council should determine its own basic allowance scheme. |
| 4.3 | If approved, the basic allowance will be paid to councillors once a year in May. The basic allowance is subject to being taxed. Elected councillors must provide the Clerk with details of their National Insurance Number and date of birth so as to comply with tax regulations. |
| 4.4 | The basic allowance scheme will be reviewed from time to time and any changes will be approved by Full Council. |
| 4.5 | Elected councillors may choose to inform the Clerk that he/she does not wish to receive the basic allowance. Once informed of this decision, no allowance will be paid to the councillor unless the request is rescinded by the councillor. |
5. ENTERTAINING – BUSINESS
Councillors and employees should only entertain visitors and guests where it is likely to assist the Parish Council in its business and with prior approval of the Full Council.
In general, entertainment will be considered as business-related if its purpose is to discuss a particular Parish Council project, maintain an existing service connection or to form a new service connection.
Entertainment will not count as business-related if its purpose is social, even if there is some discussion of business-related topics in the course of the entertainment.
Amounts claimed should be reasonable and appropriate.
6. PROCEDURE FOR CLAIMING TRAVEL AND EXPENSES
- Travel and expenses claim forms are available from the Clerk (see Appendix 1).
- Receipts, invoices and other proofs of payment should be attached to the claim form.
- The completed claim form should be signed and forwarded to the Clerk for checking.
- Councillors’ claim forms will be authorised by the Clerk. The Clerk’s claim forms will be authorised by the Chairman or, in their absence, the Vice-Chairman.
- Reimbursement of the travel and expenses claim will be made as soon as is practicable.
Name:
Address:
| Date | Journey | Details | Miles | Parking | Fares | Miscellaneous – Specify | Amount |
| Total Miles x 45p | £ | ||||||
| Total Parking | £ | ||||||
| Total Misc. | £ | ||||||
| TOTAL | £ |
I certify that the particulars in this claim form are correct and I have incurred expenditure additional to that which I would normally have incurred. I have attached receipts where applicable.
Signed (Claimant): ..………………………………………………….. Date: ………………………………
Signed (Clerk/Chairman): …………………………………………………… Date: ………………………………