10.—(1) Before the beginning of each year, an authority shall make the scheme required by regulation 4(1)(a) for the payment of basic allowance for that year.
(2) The scheme shall also make provision for the following allowances if an authority intends to make such payments in respect of the year—
(a)special responsibility allowance;
(b)dependants' carers' allowance;
(c)travelling and subsistence allowance; and
(d)co-optees' allowance.
(3) Subject to regulation 12 the scheme may be amended at any time but may only be revoked with effect from the beginning of a year.
(4) A scheme may make provision for an annual adjustment of allowances by reference to such index as may be specified by the authority and where the only change made to a scheme in any year is that effected by such annual adjustment in accordance with such index the scheme shall be deemed not to have been amended.
(5) Where an authority has regard to an index for the purpose of annual adjustment of allowances it must not rely on that index for longer than a period of four years before seeking a further recommendation from the independent remuneration panel established in respect of that authority on the application of an index to its scheme.
(6) Where an amendment is to be made which affects an allowance payable for the year in which the amendment is made, the scheme may provide for the entitlement to such allowance as amended to apply with effect from the beginning of the year in which the amendment is made.
(7) A scheme may provide that where payment of any allowance has already been made in respect of any period during which the member concerned is
(a)suspended or partially suspended from his responsibilities or duties as a member of the authority in accordance with Part III of the Local Government Act 2000 or regulations made under that Part;
(b)ceases to be a member of the authority; or
(c)is in any other way not entitled to receive the allowance in respect of that period,
the authority may require that such part of the allowance as relates to any such period be repaid to the authority.
(8) Where the scheme is revoked in accordance with this regulation or regulation 12, an authority shall before the revocation takes effect make a further scheme for the period beginning with the date on which the revocation takes effect and ending at the end of the year in question.
(9) A scheme must make provision to ensure that where a member of an authority is also a member of another authority, that member may not receive allowances from more than one authority in respect of the same duties.
11.—(1) A scheme made by a district council, county council or a London borough council shall set out—
(a)which members of the authority are to be entitled to pensions in accordance with a scheme made under section 7 of the Superannuation Act 1972(1); and
(b)whether the basic allowance or the special responsibility allowance, or both, may be treated as amounts in respect of which such pensions are payable in accordance with a scheme made under section 7 of the Superannuation Act 1972.
(2) In making such provision an authority may only include someone who has first been recommended by the independent remuneration panel established in respect of that authority for such entitlement under regulation 21.
12. Where an independent remuneration panel has produced a report in accordance with regulation 21, a district, county or London borough council may, notwithstanding regulation 10(3), revoke an allowance scheme at any time once that council has begun to operate—
(a)executive arrangements, where they are being operated in place of existing alternative arrangements;
(b)alternative arrangements, where they are being operated in place of existing executive arrangements; or
(c)different executive arrangements which involve an executive which takes a different form.
13. The scheme shall provide that a person may, by notice in writing given to the proper officer of the authority, elect to forgo his entitlement or any part of his entitlement to allowances.
14.—(1) The scheme shall specify a time limit from the date on which an entitlement to each of the following allowances arises during which a claim for such allowances must be made by the person to whom they are payable—
(a)dependants' carers' allowance;
(b)travelling and subsistence allowance; and
(c)co-optees' allowance.
(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall prevent an authority from making a payment where the allowance is not claimed within the period specified in the scheme.
(3) The scheme may provide for payments of allowances to be made at such times as may be specified in it, and different times may be specified for different allowances.
15.—(1) An authority shall keep a record of the payments made by it in accordance with a scheme.
(2) Such a record shall—
(a)specify the name of the recipient of the payment and the amount and nature of each payment;
(b)be available, at all reasonable times, for inspection and at no charge—
(i)where it is kept by an authority specified in regulation 3(1)(a) to 3(1)(d), by any local government elector for the area of that authority; and
(ii)where it is kept by any other authority, by any local government elector of any authority specified in regulation 3(1)(a) to 3(1)(d) in whose area that other authority exercises functions; and
(c)be supplied in copy to any person who requests such a copy and who pays to the authority such reasonable fee as it may determine.
(3) As soon as reasonably practicable after the end of a year to which the scheme relates, an authority shall make arrangements for the publication within the authority’s area of the total sum paid by it in the year under the scheme to each recipient in respect of each of the following—
(a)basic allowance;
(b)special responsibility allowance;
(c)dependants' carers' allowance;
(d)travelling and subsistence allowance; and
(e)co-optees' allowance.
16.—(1) An authority shall, as soon as reasonably practicable after the making or amendment of a scheme, make arrangements for its publication by—
(a)ensuring that copies of the scheme are available for inspection by members of the public at the principal office of the authority, at all reasonable hours; and
(b)publishing in one or more newspapers circulating in its area, a notice which—
(i)states that the authority has made or amended a scheme and specifies the period of time for which the scheme has effect;
(ii)describes the main features of the scheme and specifies the amounts payable in respect of each allowance mentioned in the scheme;
(iii)describes any responsibilities or duties specified in the scheme in accordance with regulations 5(1) and 8(1) in relation to special responsibility allowance and travelling and subsistence allowance;
(iv)confirms that in making or amending the scheme, the authority complied with any duty arising under regulation 19 to have regard to the recommendations of an independent remuneration panel;
(v)describes the main features of that panel’s recommendations and specifies the recommended amounts of each allowance mentioned in its report for that authority;
(vi)states that copies of the scheme and copies of a record kept in accordance with regulation 15(1) and (2) are available at the principal office of the authority for inspection by members of the public at such times as may be specified by the authority in the notice; and
(vii)specifies the address of the principal office of the authority at which such copies are made available.
(2) An authority shall ensure that a notice in the form required under sub-paragraph (b) is published in one or more newspapers circulating in its area as soon as possible after the expiration of twelve months after the previous publication of such a notice, irrespective of whether the scheme has been amended during that twelve month period.
(3) An authority shall supply a copy of the scheme to any person who requests a copy and who pays to the authority such reasonable fee as the authority may determine.
17.—(1) Notwithstanding regulation 33, any scheme made by an authority in accordance with the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) regulations 1991(2) as amended shall continue in force up to and including 29th September 2003 or until a new scheme in accordance with these Regulations is made by the authority, if sooner.
(2) An authority shall make a scheme in accordance with these Regulations on or prior to 30th September 2003.
(3) Where an authority first makes a scheme in accordance with these Regulations it shall revoke any previous scheme for the payment of allowances and ensure that the scheme made in accordance with these Regulations takes effect on the date that the revocation of the previous scheme takes effect.
(4) Subject to paragraph (5), any scheme made by an authority in accordance with these Regulations between the coming into force of these Regulations and 30th September 2003 may make provision for any allowance payable in accordance with such a scheme to be payable as if the scheme had been in force with effect from 1st May 2003.
(5) Any provision made in accordance with paragraph (4) shall not permit a member to receive a greater amount in total under the provisions of that scheme and any previous scheme, in respect of any duty carried out between the coming into force of these Regulations and the making of a scheme in accordance with these Regulations, than he would have received had the scheme been in effect from the 1st May 2003.