The General Purposes Committee of Croydon Council met on Tuesday 13 January 2026 to discuss and recommend changes to the Members' Allowances Scheme for the 2026-27 financial year. The committee considered and recommended a revised scheme to Full Council, which includes an inflationary increase to expenses and updates to various allowances.

Members' Allowances Scheme 2026-27

The committee considered and recommended to Full Council the Members' Allowances Scheme for the 2026-27 financial year. The proposed scheme largely mirrors the current scheme but includes an annual inflationary increase to expenses, reflecting the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 2024 to November 2025, which was 4.1%. This adjustment aims to address the significant disparity that has grown over the past 20 years, as expense rates had not been reviewed for at least that long.

Adrian May, Senior Democratic Services and Governance Officer, introduced the report, highlighting that the scheme needed to be agreed before the financial year began and would go to Budget Council for final approval. He noted that the current expense rates referenced decommissioned organisations from 1997, underscoring the need for an update. The proposed changes also include making the review of expenses an annual event, aligning it with the review of basic and special responsibility allowances.

The report also referenced the Independent Panel on the Remuneration of Councillors in London's 2023 report, which recommended that all member allowances be updated annually in line with the percentage pay award agreed by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services Staff (LGSS). While the LGSS uplift for 2026/27 had not yet been nationally agreed, the committee agreed to recommend a 3.2% uplift for basic and special responsibility allowances for the 2025-26 financial year, backdated to April 2025, as discussed in a previous meeting.

The committee also agreed to recommend that the Director of Legal Services be authorised to publicise the 2026-27 scheme and make necessary updates to the council's constitution. A wider review of the scheme, including subsistence, hotel costs, and travel, is ongoing and will be considered at a future meeting.

Councillor Sean Fitzsimons, Chair of the Committee, emphasised the principle that councillors should be able to recover costs incurred in the course of their duties without making a profit. He noted that some members of modest income might struggle to attend events if allowances did not cover costs. The committee's discussion indicated a need for further review before final decisions are made.

The committee voted unanimously to recommend the proposed scheme to Full Council.