Payments to top politicians in Havering could be cut by nearly £400,000 a year in a bid to bolster the borough’s reserves.

That is the suggestion from Cllr Damian White, leader of Havering Council, who is meeting with group leaders on the council today (February 25) to discuss the proposals, which would see a new committee structure introduced.

He is hoping to agree a composite motion with opposition leaders, which would be put forward alongside the 2022/23 budget proposals at next Wednesday’s full meeting of council.

Earlier this week, residents’ groups submitted separate motions and amendments to cut special responsibility allowances (SRA) in order to fund street cleaning and road repairs.

Cllr White said he was driven to develop his own proposal, which would see £1.5million go into Havering’s general reserves over the next four years, by the “difficult financial position the council finds itself in”.

He claimed the proposal submitted by Upminster and Cranham Residents' Association and Hornchurch Residents' Association was not feasible because it had not been accompanied by a proposal to reform the committee structure.

Officers have told Cllr White that a separate agreement on a new committee structure would be required before savings from SRA cuts could come into effect, he claimed.

SRAs are paid to councillors who take on additional responsibilities such as cabinet posts, committee chairships and leadership positions.

The leader’s proposal would take Havering’s overall spending on SRAs to £700,000, which he said was similar to comparable local authorities such as Bexley.

Cllr White said a bipartisan motion would “highlight the political commitment from all parties on the council that the future financial direction of the council could be achieved through cooperation”.

He said he had “his own views of which committees” should be cut, but said he wanted a bi-partisan discussion to come to a decision.

Upminster and Cranham Residents' Association and Hornchurch Residents' Association’s budget amendment proposed the removal of two cabinet posts and one deputy cabinet post, as well as the highways, adjudication and review, and joint venture working party committees and three overview and scrutiny subcommittee chairships.

This comes after Cllr White was criticised for creating two new cabinet posts at a taxpayer cost of almost £60,000. He said they were to redistribute "not sustainable" workload levels.