Appendix H :
The Cost of the Council and Scottish Committee
This page contains details of the Council's income and expenditure for the financial year ending 31 March 2006, with the 2004/05 figures for comparison.
The Council's funding is provided through the Department for Constitutional Affairs in accordance with Section 3(3) of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992. Certain costs1 are funded centrally and do not feature in the account below. Other costs, such as staff pay rates, are determined centrally but paid from the Council's budget.
The total allocation for this year, excluding items funded centrally, was £1,253,000 (£1,096,000 in 2004/05). The Council's actual expenditure for the year was less than budget at £1,074,4012.
| £ | Council on Tribunals | Scottish Committee | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004/2005 | 2005/2006 | 2004/2005 | 2005/2006 | |
| Staff Salaries3 | 389,698 | 399,688 | 61,078 | 63,790 |
| Members' Retainers4 | 262,274 | 220,159 | 37,512 | 38,564 |
| Members' Travel etc5 | 44,127 | 40,897 | 8,624 | 5,955 |
| Consultancy6 | 30,189 | 17,221 | - | - |
| Agency Staff7 | 107,409 | 167,144 | - | - |
| Printing and Publishing8 | 10,842 | 10,111 | 2,971 | 2,811 |
| Other Administrative Costs9 | 93,487 | 90,519 | 17,545 | 17,542 |
| Total | 938,546 | 945,739 | 127,730 | 128,662 |
- In particular accommodation, IT and accounting/payroll services.
- An underspend of £178,599 occurred, in part due to a senior staff post and a number of member positions being unfilled for all or part of the year. In addition, the delay to the Courts and Tribunals Bill meant that we were unable to utilise funds set aside for transitional tasks.
- The staff of the Council's Secretariat are civil servants seconded from the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Scottish Executive. Salary costs include employer's National Insurance Contributions and superannuation.
- The Council and Scottish Committee Chairmen's salaries were last increased in April 2005 and are £50,541 and £25,271 respectively. The retainers for Members of the Council (based on 44 days work per year) and of the Scottish Committee (based on 35 days work per year) are £11,556 and £9,192. Salaries and retainers are currently under review. The figures for Members' retainers include the remuneration of the Scottish Committee Chairman and the two members of the Council who are also members of the Scottish Committee. These costs include employer's National Insurance Contributions.
- Members' expenses for attending meetings of the Council, visits to tribunals and other events, including Scottish Committee expenses for attending meetings held in London.
- Primarily the fees to consultants engaged to advise on our communications strategy and preparation of our newsletter.
- Agency staff are engaged as required to cover vacancies and absences and to provide specialist skills including desk top publishing and additional legal support.
- The cost of printing the Council's Annual Report and other publications throughout the year.
- Other general administrative expenditure including the conferences held in London and Cardiff and the user support workshops, together with usual office supplies, postage, catering for meetings etc.
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