To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the level of remuneration will be announced for those persons returned to the shadow councils in Northern Ireland in 2008. (76368)

Decisions on remuneration for councillors elected in the 2008 local government elections will be made when there is a clearer picture of the responsibilities of the shadow councils and the governance arrangements under which they will operate.

However, I expect shortly to receive the report from the Councillors’ Remuneration Working Group which was established last year and this will inform decisions on the scheme of remuneration for councillors in the current and future systems of local government. It is too early to say when these decisions will be announced.