A COUNCIL has thrown down the gauntlet to find five “open minded” people who live or work in Cambridgeshire to determine how much county councillors should be paid.

The council has been forced to convene a new independent remuneration panel following the debacle of an earlier attempt which was ruled unconstitutional.

Now the council’s standards committee has got its act together and hope to have a new panel in place by the beginning of next month.

Key requirements include the fact that applicants “must not be politically active”, cannot be a councillor elsewhere or a council employee, have no contractual arrangements with the council, be solvent and not have been to prison within the past five years.

Those selected will be faced with listening to submissions from councillors and officers, attending public meetings, helping to draft conclusions and finalising a report by mid March.

One question which councillors will be asked is whether allowances, if they get approved in March, are back dated to last April.

However those giving their time to help on the remuneration panel can expect little by way of reward.

“Membership of the panel is not a salaried position but panel members will be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses and time commitment,” says the application pack prepared for prospective members.

Anyone interested in applying to join the panel can contact jim.milne@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or call 01223 715364.