The Croydon Council's General Purposes Committee met to discuss and approve a 3.2% increase to the Members' Allowance Scheme, and to agree the schedule of council meetings for 2026-27. The committee voted to recommend both items to the full council for final approval.

Members' Allowances

The committee voted to recommend to the full council an uplift of 3.2% to members' allowances for the 2025/26 financial year, backdated to April 2025. This increase applies to both the basic allowance and special responsibility allowances (SRAs).

Adrian May, Senior Democratic Services Officer, introduced the report, explaining that the members' allowance scheme has a provision to rise with inflation, as determined by the local government staff settlement. The settlement was agreed earlier in the year than usual, allowing the committee to make a decision on the increase sooner.

Councillor Sean Fitzsimons, Chair of the Committee, stated that the increase had already been budgeted for and that informal discussions with various parties had taken place.

The Green Party supported the increase, but only for the basic allowance. No feedback was received from the Liberal Democrats.

Councillor Karen Jewitt, Deputy Cabinet Member for Customer Service, raised the issue of hotel expenses for councillors attending events outside the borough, suggesting that the current remuneration is too low. Councillor Fitzsimons agreed, noting that expenses have not been reviewed for several years and are likely out of step with inflation.

Mr May clarified that a short review of the members' allowance scheme would be carried out before the Budget Council, looking at aligning the scheme with the officer scheme, particularly regarding expenses and car allowances for electric cars.

The recommendations put to the committee were:

• To give due consideration to the Independent Panel Report on the Remuneration of Councillors in London for 2023.
• To agree to recommend to full council an uplift in members allowances of 3.2% for the 2025/26 financial year, backdated from April 2025.
• Subject to the above, to agree to recommend to full council an amended Members' Allowances Scheme for 2025/26.
• To agree to recommend to full council that the Director of Legal Services be authorised to comply with the statutory requirements to publicise the 2025/26 Members' Allowances Scheme and to make all necessary updates to the constitution.
• To agree to undertake a review of the Members' Allowance Scheme during November 2025-January 2026 to further consider any wider changes for the Scheme of Members' Allowances, scheduled for agreement on 25 February 2026 at Budget Council.

The committee voted to approve the recommendations.

Council Calendar 2026-27

The committee agreed the schedule of council meetings for the 2026-27 municipal year, and recommended that the full council approve the meeting dates for all other committees for the same period. Draft dates for cabinet meetings were provided for noting.

The calendar had been circulated to chief whips and individual members, and queries had been raised about meetings during school holidays. It was noted that some schools now take two weeks at half term, and that officers try to keep the second week clear. However, due to the cycle of cabinet and council meetings, some meetings may still fall within the first week of some school holidays.

Councillor Cameron Jewitt raised concerns about the impact of term time meetings on both councillors and staff with caring responsibilities, and suggested exploring online meetings or daytime meetings as alternatives.

Officers noted that the council's constitution currently requires in-person attendance for participation and voting, which would need to be changed to allow online meetings. They also mentioned that the government is considering allowing councils to make their own rules on online attendance, and that Croydon has fed back to a nationwide consultation, requesting the flexibility to use online meetings if desired.

It was clarified that the annual council meeting in April 2026 has been moved later in the month due to the local elections in May.

The recommendations put to the committee were:

• Subject to any necessary amendments, agree the schedule of council meetings for the 2026–27 municipal year set out at Appendices A and B of the Council Calendar 2026-27 Report.
• Recommend that full council approves the meeting dates for all other committees for the 2026-27 municipal year, Appendices A and B of the Council Calendar 2026-27 Report.
• Note the draft cabinet meeting dates proposed for the municipal year 2026-27, Appendices A and B of the Council Calendar 2026-27 Report.

The committee voted to approve the recommendations.