Councillors' expenses published
04-FEB-10
Issued by: Jeanette Hedley
Councillors in North Tyneside are opening their expenses claims up to wide public scrutiny by publishing details on the Council website.
The move - part of the ongoing commitment by the Elected Mayor Mrs Linda Arkley to make North Tyneside Council more transparent and allow the public to easily access information - means that residents will be able to know about all payments to members.
Details of payments of allowances to the 60 councillors are already published annually and are also available on the website.
Elected Mayor, Linda Arkley said: "Making North Tyneside Council more open and transparent - giving our residents easy access to more information - is one of my key priorities.
"It is appropriate that as an organisation we publish all information about any payments made to councillors on our website. Members are elected by the public and are fully accountable to those who elect them.
"We already publish the members allowances paid, and now with the addition of information about expenses paid to individuals, the public have the complete information."
Members are allowed to claim expenses for travel and subsistence as well as for essential costs for telephone rental and broadband to support them in representing the public.
This is in addition to the basic allowance scheme - with members in North Tyneside receiving some of the lowest payments in the country.
Details of the payments made to councillors is available on the council website at www.northtyneside.gov.uk (under the council and democracy heading or using the direct link below:
http://www.northtyneside.gov.uk/browse-display.shtml?p_ID=30209&p_subjectCategory=26