The Council of Lancaster Council met on Wednesday 11 December 2024. They voted to approve the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel on Councillors' Allowances, to note the new Executive arrangements, and to retain the existing Localised Council Tax Support scheme for 2025/26.

Councillors' Allowances

Councillors voted to accept the recommendations made in the Independent Remuneration Panel's Annual Review of Councillors' Allowances.

The key recommendations made in the report, and approved by Councillors were:

• The basic allowance paid to all Councillors would rise by 2.5% from £4326 to £4434.15.
• All Special Responsibility Allowances would also rise by 2.5%, with the Leader of the Council's allowance rising to £11,910.13 and the Deputy Leader's to £7,031.93.
• The existing arrangements for travel and subsistence would remain in place.
• The maximum hourly rate payable under the Dependants Carers Allowance would rise to £12.60 per hour in line with the Real Living Wage.

Councillor Maddocks, who proposed the motion to approve the recommendations, noted that the report inaccurately stated there were only two 'Champion' roles on the Council. The report had omitted to mention the Council's Diversity Champion.

Executive Arrangements

Councillors noted the appointment of the new Leader of the Council, Councillor Caroline Jackson and her Deputy, Councillor Peter Jackson. They also noted the new Cabinet Portfolio areas for the new administration:

Leader – Councillor Caroline Jackson Principal Spokesperson Emergency Response Council Priorities & Principles Comms Eden Housing and Homelessness Council Housing Homelessness Private Sector Housing Social Housing Caravan Sites Traveller Sites Refugee / Asylum Seeker Housing Home Improvement Agency Deputy Leader – Councillor Peter Jackson Communities, Well-Being and Partnerships Deputise for the leader as required Rural Communities and AONB Partnerships – Police, NHS, Morecambe Summit, Community Events Public order and antisocial behaviour Voluntary, faith and community groups Health & Well-Being Sport and Leisure /Salt Ayre Leisure Centre Community Safety Partnership Community Connectors /UKSPF Community resilience and recovery Household Support Fund Councillor Martin Bottoms Morecambe Regeneration and Local Economy Morecambe BID Sustainable Business Innovation Economic development and growth Community Wealth Building/ Local Supply Chains Tourism and Marketing Arts, culture and festivals Frontierland Engineers Councillor Gina Dowding Climate Action Flood Prevention Low Carbon Energy Generation and Energy Conservation Climate Emergency Response (cross portfolio) Climate Change Resilience District Net Zero Partnership Retrofit and Electrification EV charging Active Travel and Modal Shift (Strategic development Implementation and Monitoring) Low Carbon Sector Councillor Tim Hamilton-Cox Finance and Property Councillor Paul Hart Environmental Services Waste and Recycling Parks and Green Spaces Café and recreational facilities Commons, Reserves, Open Spaces Water including Rivers and Coast Nature Conservation Biodiversity Street Cleansing Environmental Health and Enforcement Allotments, Food Production and Food Waste Councillor Sally Maddocks Corporate Services Human Resources; Fair Work Charter, Equalities Corporate Performance Management Legal Services: Enforcement – Fly tipping, littering, dog fouling, PSPS Procurement and Fair Trade Democratic Services (Democratic Support, Induction Civic, Mayoral & Elections) Governance Customer and Advice Services Licensing Civic Facilities Management (Operational) Hospitality management Councillor Sue Tyldesley Planning Planning including Local Plan Conservation and Urban Design Transport Policy– Air quality Development and Building Control Compulsory Purchase Neighbourhood Plans Councillor Nick WIlkinson Lancaster Regeneration and Local Economy Lancaster BID High Streets Markets Regeneration Community Wealth Building/ Local Supply Chains Jobs and Skills – Including Green Skills Digital Strategy and Implementation Canal Quarter Business Recovery (Response to economic shocks) Business Support & Information Theatres, Museums and Visitor Information Parking

Localised Council Tax Support Scheme 2025/26

Councillor Hamilton-Cox, the Cabinet member responsible for Finance, proposed that the Council should retain its existing Localised Council Tax Support Scheme for 2025/26. The Council voted to accept his proposal.

Appointment of Chairs

Following the resignations of Councillor Hartley as Chair of the Audit Committee and Councillor Maddocks as Chair of the Licensing Committee, the Council voted to appoint new chairs for both committees.

Councillor Tynan was appointed as the new chair of the Licensing Committee after beating Councillor Pattison in a vote.

Councillor Stubbins was appointed chair of the Audit Committee unopposed.