General

Fees for hours worked are paid to the Authority’s Board Members in line with the Scottish Government Public Sector Pay Policy for Senior Appointments[1]. 

The current daily fee is £317.92 for Members, £386.92 for the Vice Chair and £538.92 for the Chair to undertake their Authority role and responsibilities.  A day is calculated as 7.5 hours excluding meal breaks. 

Members are expected to work within the allowable number of days per year.  That is a maximum of 72 days for Members, 108 days for the Vice Chair and 180 days for the Chair. 

Time commitments will vary across the year and Members are requested to manage their commitments over the financial year within the maximum number of days. Authority staff will track and flag to individual Members where there is a risk of exceeding the annual maximum numbers of days.  Any commitment above the maximum number of annual days is expected to be exceptional and will require the prior approval of the Chair and Scottish Government. 

All claims must be made on the appropriate forms which can be obtained from SPA Corporate Services.  Payment will be made through the payroll system with tax deducted at source in line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual.[2]

Board Members hold public office and are not employees.  Members attendance allowance (i.e. daily fee) is subject to tax and national insurance.  

As an office holder, payments made for travelling to and from the permanent workplace (which, for taxation purposes, is deemed to be 2 French Street, Dalmarnock, Glasgow G40 4EH and for overnight accommodation if you are attending a meeting at Dalmarnock, are subject to tax and national insurance as employment income.  This means that reimbursement of expenses to Members for their subsistence and home to office travel (plus any overnight accommodation) is subject to tax and national insurance contributions.

Examples of how this would be applied are given below:

• From Members’ home to the Authority’s Offices in Dalmarnock (plus any overnight accommodation) and return journey – this is subject to tax and national insurance.
• From the Authority’s Offices to an external location, e.g. Tulliallan, and return journey - this is non-taxable only to the extent that the costs are necessary and payment above the necessary costs of their business travel is taxable. For example, HMRC's current approved mileage rate is 45p so members will be reimbursed for business travel at 45p per mile with no tax implications.
• From Members’ home to external location, e.g. Board meeting in Glasgow or Edinburgh, and return journey - journeys to a temporary place of work for business purposes, including overnight accommodation, have no tax implications, this is treated at business travel.

Where taxable travel and subsistence is incurred, the Authority will cover the costs of this expense by ‘grossing up’ payments for expenses.  This seeks to ensure no Member is out of pocket because of reasonable expenses arising from their appointment.  Members should also be aware that where the Authority directly incurs a taxable expense on behalf of a Member e.g. centrally books and pays for a hotel or travel, a taxable expense is required to be included in payroll and ‘grossed up’.   

Responsibility for ensuring compliance with all relevant HM Revenue and Customs requirements concerning any payments made to Members lies with the Authority.  Members must also satisfy themselves as to their own tax liabilities resulting from their appointment.

[1] Public sector pay - gov.scot

[2] http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/spfm/taxavoidance