A DEBATE over whether Oxford City Council needs a second deputy leader played out as councillors discussed the budget for the next year.

The city council has two deputy leaders: Ed Turner and Tom Hayes.

One of these posts, held by Mr Turner, is a statutory role, which means it is required by law.

The other one held by Mr Hayes is an elective role the council has chosen to add to its cabinet, the senior group of councillors who lead the authority.

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Both deputies are paid an extra £5,079 on top of their allowances as councillors.

The council’s Liberal Democrat group proposed getting rid of the extra deputy leader, with opposition leader Andrew Gant describing it as an extra cost to the public purse.

He said: “Basically when this payment was agreed we were told that certain things would go with it… if you’re prepared to look your voters in the eye and ask them if they have had a £5,000 pay increase for no extra duties then please do so.”

His fellow Lib Dem Stef Gardner said the position was ‘nice to have’ but not necessary, adding that Birmingham City Council, the largest local council in Europe, had only one deputy leader.

She said: “The ongoing non statutory deputy leader raises two questions – why does the city council need two deputies? How can we justify this ongoing expense?”

But the council’s Labour leader Susan Brown said: “We are in the annual unedifying debate about the deputy leadership of the council which is based on a total misunderstanding about how the actual budget works.”

She said that both deputy leaders were paid from a single pot of money which all cabinet members received their extra allowance from.

Ms Brown added if the extra deputy leader’s post was abolished, the extra allowance would just be spread among the remaining cabinet members.

City council leader Susan Brown

City council leader Susan Brown

The council leader said: “I don’t understand the ignorance that brings this paritulcar proposal annually to council other than to see if as a personal attack on my two excellent deputies and previous excellent deputies who are performing a useful role as part of the leadership team of this council.”

Deputy leader Ed Turner added the debate was ‘petty’ and he had considered tabling an amendment to dock the extra allowance given to opposition leaders.

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But he added he realised this would be ‘small minded’ and said the council had to accept the recommendations from its independent remuneration panel, which sets out how much different senior councillors get paid for their work free of influence from elected members.

The proposal, which would have amended the council’s budget, was voted down.

In the past, the two deputy roles were used to address a gender balance in the council’s leadership, with one held by a male councillor and the other by a female councillor.

This changed last year when Mr Hayes was selected for the non-statutory deputy role.

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