MD3075 Salary Determination for GLA Elected Members 2022

Legislation

1.1. The salaries of the Mayor and Assembly Members (“Elected Members”) are a matter they must determine and agree jointly under section 24 of the Greater London Authority (“GLA Act”) 1999. The Assembly’s approval is determined by a simple majority of Assembly Members voting at the plenary meeting exercising the determination approval power under section 24. Mayoral approval is by means of a Mayoral Decision. The London Assembly considered and approved a section 24 determination (the GLA Elected Members Salaries Determination 2022: “the 2022 Determination”) at its Plenary meeting on 15 December 2022. This is set out at Appendix 1 and the Mayor is asked to approve it in identical terms.

1.2. A salary determination under section 24 of the GLA Act is binding on all 26 Elected Members irrespective of their terms of office or the timing of GLA elections, and a determination continues in force until amended or superseded by a future jointly approved salary determination under section 24.

Previous and current determinations

1.3. There has always been a strong desire to ensure that the Mayor and Assembly Members’ pay levels are decided through an objective process. From 2000-2009, the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) was engaged to undertake periodic reviews in order to make recommendations for remuneration levels, which in turn lead to successive salary determinations.

1.4. In 2009, in response to an SSRB recommendation, the then Mayor (via MD493 in December 2009) and Assembly (by Plenary approval on 11 November 2009) jointly approved a salary determination under section 24 (“the 2009 Determination”). A copy is at Appendix 2.

1.5. The 2009 Determination set out the “baseline salaries” for the Mayor, Statutory Deputy Mayor, Chair of the Assembly and the other 23 Assembly Members. It also included a mechanism for annual increases in their baseline salaries. This mechanism determined that annual pay increases for Elected Members would be the same as that applied to GLA staff so long as that award was in line with local government settlements nationally. Where divergence between those settlements occurred, the SSRB would be asked to give advice.

1.6. In 2020-21, there was divergence between the GLA pay award (2 per cent for staff on grades 1-7 and a freeze elsewhere) and that set by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services (NJC) (2.75 per cent). This raised the issue of potentially needing an SSRB review; but also an issue of fairness given the disparity that would have arisen between the pay award for GLA staff and for the Mayor and Assembly Members. The Mayor had already made a decision to temporarily reduce his salary by ten per cent, which took effect from 1 July 2020. Following individual consultations between Human Resources and each of the 25 Assembly Members, every Assembly Member also voluntarily agreed to opt out of receiving the salary increases they would have been entitled to in 2020-21, effectively freezing their pay. Whilst this decision meant consultation with the SSRB was not considered necessary, it did necessitate a change to the 2009 Determination.

1.7. The Mayor (via MD2769 in March 2021) and Assembly (by Plenary approval on 4 March 2021) jointly determined and approved a new salary settlement (the 2021 Determination). A copy is at Appendix 3. The 2021 Determination re-confirmed baseline salaries and froze Elected Member pay in line with the 0 per cent increase for GLA employees at Grade 8 and above in the 2020-21 settlement. It made no provision for salary uplifts in future years and remains in force.

What needs to be addressed

1.8. Without a change to the current 2021 Determination, there can be no change to the salaries of Elected Members. The GLA has provided a 3.2 per cent pay award for employees at Grades 1-12 (and 2 per cent for those at Grade 13 and above), and which took effect from 1 April 2022. Against this backdrop, in light of the period of pay restraint, and inflation-linked pay increases for some elected members in other comparable institutions, it is recommended that a new determination be agreed to allow a pay award to be made to Elected Members.

1.9. The question of how to determine any such increase then needs to be addressed and reconsidered. There has been no substantive consideration of Elected Member pay since 2009. It is proposed that it would be appropriate to undertake an independent review of Elected Member pay, and which could consider baseline salaries, and whether they are appropriately set for the nature of the roles in scope. Such a review could also make recommendations for a new mechanism for determining future pay awards. Building on the approach taken in 2009, it is considered that any approach must be:

- impartial: so that annual salary awards are set in a way that is independent of the Mayor and Assembly Members

- fair: so that salary awards are reflective of the wider context for public sector pay and for officials within the GLA and consistently applied to GLA Elected Members

- simple: so that salary awards are transparent, easy to understand and unambiguous

1.10. It is recommended that such a review is commissioned jointly by the Mayor and the London Assembly ahead of the next GLA elections in May 2024, and with a view to making recommendations to the Mayor and the London Assembly following those elections. Such a review might support the establishment of a new framework for the duration of that Mayoral term.

1.11. Ahead of a more substantive review, consideration has been given to what mechanism might be used to provide for any pay awards in 2022-23 and 2023-24, and in line with the principles set out above.

1.12. In order to support impartiality, the proposed new 2022 Determination ties any Elected Member pay increase in 2022-23 and 2023-24 to any annual pay equivalent (outer London weighted) award made by the NJC, as was the case under the 2009 Determination. The NJC mechanism ensures that Elected Members are not involved in – or perceived to be involved in – decisions determining their own pay award and remains in step with the broader local government sector. The determination does also recognise the importance of ensuring any pay award is in line with and capped at that given to GLA staff, stating that any award made to an Elected Member cannot be greater than that made to GLA staff in receipt of an equivalent salary. It is considered that this additional provision deals with the question of divergence that was foreseen by the 2009 Determination (and which arose in practice in 2021), but without the need for further recourse to the SSRB. Under the proposed provisions, if a GLA award exceeds an NJC award in 2023-24, Elected Members would only be entitled to the lower NJC award.

1.13. The NJC has recommended an increase of £1925 across all spinal points for 2022-23, with additional weighting for London (bringing the increase to £2229 for outer London and £2335 for inner London). It is recommended that the 2022 Determination reflects the outer London weighting in 2022-23, recognising Elected Members’ role in representing all Londoners. In most cases, this would equate to an increase for Elected Members in line with or just below that for GLA staff on equivalent salaries. If the proposed 2022 Determination is agreed, Assembly Members (other than Statutory Deputy Mayor and the Chair of the London Assembly) would receive a 3.2 per cent increase (£1873), in line with the equivalent GLA offer, and slightly below the 3.8 per cent available to them if the NJC award were applied in full. 

1.14. If the 2022 Determination is agreed as proposed, baseline salaries would change as follows, with the increased salary backdated to 1 April 2022:

1.16   The proposed new 2022 Determination will continue to recognise the right of any individual Member(s) to take a salary reduction (forgoing any proposed increase) and agreeing this determination does not therefore define the salary actually received by each Elected Member.

1.17. A salary determination provides the legal basis which allows Elected Members to receive salaries. Whilst the wider determination will remain in force until it is replaced by a new determination to ensure salaries can continue to be paid, the proposed NJC mechanism governing pay awards is time limited and will apply only in 2022-23 and 2023-24.  No further pay award will be made in 2024-25 or beyond under the NJC system or otherwise unless a new determination is brought forward and agreed jointly. Elected Members’ pay levels will remain fixed at the increased 2023-24 level. This would ensure that no award could be made before the recommendations of an independent review are brought forward, should such a review be commissioned.

2.1. The objective of the new 2022 Salary Determination is to provide a mechanism for pay awards to Elected Members in 2022-23 and 2023-24 ahead of an independent review of remuneration in 2024-25 and future years.

3.1. Section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010 provides that, in the exercise of their functions, public authorities must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010; advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it (“the Public Sector Equality Duty”). The protected characteristics under Section 149 of the Equality Act are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status.

3.2. Officers have reviewed the application of the Public Sector Equality Duty to the proposed 2022 Salary Determination and consider that there are no adverse impacts on any specific group with protected characteristics.

Key risks and issues

4.1. There is a risk that the salaries of the Mayor and Assembly Members are perceived as not being the product of fair, objective and transparent decision-making. This risk is mitigated by the fact the 2022 Determination is being approved through a transparent decision-making process, is time limited, ties pay awards to those determined by an external body, and ensures any award reflects awards provided to GLA staff at an equivalent salary level.

Link to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.2. This salary determination will be published and provides for openness and transparency with respect to the salaries of Elected Members and other remuneration arrangements.

Conflicts of interest

4.3. There are no conflicts of interest to declare from all those involved in the drafting and officer-level clearance of this Mayoral Decision. A dispensation has been granted by the Monitoring Officer to the Mayor and all 25 members of the Assembly to enable them to discharge their functions under section 24 of the GLA Act as regards the determination of their own salaries given that this is a decision that must be taken by them jointly and could not be discharged without such a dispensation.

5.1. This form requests approval of a new 2022 Salary Determination order.

5.2. The total cost of this change in 2022-23 is £49,766. Provision for a possible uplift to Elected Member salaries, in line with the wider local Government and GLA picture, was made in the 2022-23 GLA budgets and similar provision has been made in draft budgets for 2023-24. The costs of any independent review of remuneration for Elected Members will be met jointly by the Mayor and the Assembly with equal contributions from each. It is not possible at this stage to predict the outcome from the proposed review, but any financial implications flowing from the review will be assessed and managed through the usual budget setting processes.

6.1. The salaries of the Mayor and Assembly Members are a matter that they must determine and agree jointly under Section 24 of the GLA Act 1999. (That section also covers the joint determination of their expenses and allowances.) A salary determination may provide:

- for a higher level of salary to be payable to the Mayor than to any Assembly member

- for higher levels of salaries to be payable to Assembly members holding the offices of statutory Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Assembly (and for them to be at different levels)

- for levels of salaries to change from time to time by reference to a specified formula or other mechanism

6.2. In accordance with Standing Order 13.1B(4) and section 24(8) of the GLA Act every determination as to the Mayor’s and Assembly Members’ salaries under section 24 must be published by the Head of Paid Service as soon as practicable thereafter by being posted on the Authority’s website and the Executive Director of Assembly Secretariat must maintain copies available for public inspection during normal office hours.