This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/8486023.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Talks on councillors' pay freeze Scottish councillors' pay frozen
(about 22 hours later)
Scotland's local authority leaders are to discuss freezing councillors' pay for the next two years. The salaries of Scotland's councillors are to be frozen for the next year.
The body which monitors their pay, the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee, suggested the move in their latest report. However, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) rejected an earlier plan to freeze pay for two years.
Council leaders will consider their response later but a draft reply suggests they will agree to the freeze. The decision, which was backed by council leaders and will apply for the financial year 2010-11, was agreed at a meeting in Edinburgh.
SLARC also wants councillors' chauffeur driven car journeys to be recorded, but not for civic heads or their deputies. It will affect Scotland's 1,222 councillors, most of whom are paid £15,000 a year.
Following the pay freeze call, officials at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) said in a draft letter to Finance Secretary John Swinney: "Recognising the current difficult financial climate, we are prepared to set an example and accept the proposed remuneration freeze for two years." Initially councillors had been asked to agree a two-year freeze on their pay, recommended by the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee.
'Spirit of openness' After the meeting a Cosla spokesman said: "Scotland's council leaders have today agreed to a pay freeze over the next year to be reviewed on a continuous basis."
In the correspondence, a "complete review" of councillors' basic salaries and in particular an examination of the amounts paid to senior representatives was also urged. I don't think there's any future that we can see within these numbers that doesn't involve fewer jobs in the public sector Sir John Elvidge
Cosla also complained that mileage rates do not reflect the true costs of rural travel. The pay freeze comes as pressure mounts on highly-paid public sector executives to give up their bonuses.
In response to the proposal to make public the number of chauffeur driven car journeys, (Cosla) said: "Our view is that the functions of senior councillors, in particular the leader and depute leader, also fall into the category of civic duty and that the use of these cars helps them to carry out their duties more efficiently. The Cosla spokesman said its decision was "in sharp contrast to some other parts of the public sector, in particular the quango state".
"We would argue therefore that the costs in relation to use of chauffeur driven cars by senior councillors should not be recorded as is being recommended for civic heads and deputies." Scottish government ministers have already taken a pay freeze, which also applies to senior civil servants.
However, after discussions, that has now been changed to: "Our view is that, in the true spirit of openness and maximum disclosure, all costs in relation to use of these vehicles should be recorded regardless of which elected member is using them and for which purpose." The news comes as Scotland's top civil servant warned that public spending could be cut by 20% in real terms in future years.
The Scottish Government said they have still to receive a reply to the SLARC's recommendations. Sir John Elvidge, the permanent secretary to the Scottish government, said spending was likely to be reduced by 10% in real terms in three years time and by 20% in seven years, compared to current levels.
'Political territory'
He said: "I think one of the hardest questions that faces us all as managers is how will the trend of real terms reductions last.
"I think, without getting into political territory, it's difficult to identify the point of certainty at which one says: 'Ah, yes, it will definitely have turned round by then.'
"And all I'd say is, that if one looks beyond four years, at that rate of annual real terms reduction and taking into account compounding, it doesn't take very long to get to 20% instead of 10%.
"Clearly one gets there in less than four years because of the effect of compounding. So if, instead of four years, it lasts for seven years - and plenty of commentators have suggested that it could - then we're at 20% real terms reductions."
Sir John also said that the number of jobs in the public sector was also set to decline.
In an interview with Holyrood Magazine, he said: "I don't think there's any future that we can see within these numbers that doesn't involve fewer jobs in the public sector."