Questions for Newport council appointing presiding officer

Plans to appoint a presiding officer to chair full council meetings – a role which had previously been the responsibility of the mayor – were approved by the council in January.

And following May’s elections, Cllr Paul Cockeram, the Labour councillor for Shaftesbury, was appointed as presiding officer at the council's annual general meeting.

The presiding officer role has an annual salary of £25,593 - which is an £8,793 addition to the £16,800 basic salary received by councillors in Newport.

Cllr Paul Cockeram was appointed presiding officer for Newport council in May. Picture: Newport council.

A Newport council spokesperson told the Argus, that the presiding officer was responsible for chairing all-member seminars and overseeing council work programmes and standing orders, as well as chairing full council meetings.

Newport’s Conservative group opposed the decision at the time, arguing that the plans were an attempt to reduce the position of mayor.

Cllr Matthew Evans, leader of the Newport Conservative group, said: “The Newport Conservatives have strongly opposed the move to install a new presiding officer. It is simply an extra cost that is not needed during a time when families across the city are facing a difficult cost-of-living crisis.

Matthew Evans has criticised the council's decision to appoint a presiding officer. Picture: Newport council.

“It’s not a personal attack on the presiding officer as a member himself. The mayor has traditionally always chaired meetings.

“It’s seven or eight meetings a year. It’s pretty outrageous to create a new post.

“The mayor and deputy mayor are still paid a combined total of £46,493.

“To then install a presiding officer - effectively on about £400-an-hour per meeting - is just wrong. The mayor previously oversaw that role, so there was really no need for a presiding officer as well.

“This is a slap in the face for hard working council tax payers in Newport. I’m calling on the Labour Council to scrap the role of presiding officer.

“It may be a small amount of the annual budget, but it’s the principle of it.”

A spokesperson for Newport City Council said: “The decision to appoint a presiding officer to chair full council meetings was taken in January with a majority of elected members supporting the proposal.

“Being the city’s mayor and chairing full council meetings are very different roles. Chairing the full council meetings requires specialist skills, distinct from those required for the civic duties of the mayor.

“As well as chairing full council, the presiding officer has other responsibilities including chairing all-member seminars and overseeing council work programmes and standing orders.

“Full council is the most important meeting in the council calendar and other councils have also taken the decision to separate the roles to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of meetings.

“In accordance with the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) for Wales, the additional costs of appointing a presiding officer are less than £9,000 a year and commensurate with the level of responsibility involved.”