MEMBERS of Oxford City Council have been criticised for suggesting a new deputy leader position that could cost thousands of pounds in a bid to address gender inequality.

City councillors agreed to note the proposal to create a new role of non-statutory deputy leader and to discuss future allowances they could receive.

The post holder would not be able to assume any of the powers of the leader in their absence, unlike the existing deputy leader.

The council currently has a leader and a deputy leader, and both positions are occupied by men.

City councillor and Green Party member Craig Simmons questioned the need for the role given the lack of funds available for councils.

He said: “This is not even a national policy. The argument wasn’t very serious, the only justification was for gender balance.

“It is clearly an attempt to give additional funding to the administration through the back door.

“People asked ‘what do we need a second deputy leader for’ and the only argument for it was the one of gender balance.

“Our view is that at a time of austerity its wrong that councillors are giving themselves additional funding.”

Defending the proposal, councillor Ed Turner said he was prepared to step into the non-statutory role himself and allow a female councillor to take his deputy leader role under the new policy.

He said: “That will give better gender balance and also provide extra capacity, at a time when the calls on the council leader’s time, fighting for additional investment from government, are greater than ever before.”

He added: “I am sad that the Green Party appears to put political point scoring ahead of a commitment to greater gender balance in the council’s leadership and the interests of the council.

“In terms of remuneration, it will be for our independent panel to make a recommendation.

“They might of course recommend that the new role carries no extra pay, or they might recommend that other allowances are reduced to compensate, so it is not clear there will be any cost with this.”

Council officers said that the need for the new role had arisen because the city council’s work had become ‘more complex’ and added the non-statutory role would ‘work on an equal basis’ with the deputy leader, despite not having equal powers.

The qualifying councillors are Marie Tidball, Susan Brown, Dee Sinclair and Linda Smith.