Anguilla’s lawmakers have been awarded substantial pay rises following an independent review of their compensation packages, it was revealed this week.
Newly released figures show that a total of EC$2.25 million will be spent per year on the annual salaries for the premier, ministers, opposition leader and opposition members.
This compares to a total of just $826,936 approved in the government’s 2025 Budget for ‘Allowances to House of Assembly’.
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In a statement on 7 September, Premier Cora Richardson Hodge said her wage will rise to $386,472, while the four ministers will each receive $338,190 under the new pay structure.
The revised rates, which took effect at the end of August, also set the annual salaries of the opposition leader and opposition members at $190,260 and $158,556.
Compensation ‘small’
Compensation for elected members was first addressed in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)’s 2021 Governance, Organisational and Administrative Review of the Anguilla House of Assembly.
The 37-page document identified, among a host of other things, the need for an independent body to be established to determine lawmakers’ pay.
It said members were receiving an allowance of about $9,000 per month – equivalent to $108,000 per year – and described the total package of support as “small”.
“Especially when consideration is given for the fact that they receive virtually no expense allowance, no support for staffing, no office accommodation, or IT or stationery provision,” it said.
The CPA added that lack of adequate remuneration could lead members to prioritise employment outside of parliament, reducing the incentive to attend additional parliamentary sittings.
“This situation also has the potential future risk of corruption, whereby members will be tempted to receive alternative forms of remuneration which will inevitably result in conflicts of interest,” the report said.
Salary review
In November 2023, the House of Assembly Administration Committee wrote to Deputy Governor Perin Bradley to ask that members be included in the upcoming public service compensation reform.
At the time, the committee comprised former speaker Barbara Webster-Bourne, then ministers Kenneth Hodge, Merrick Richardson, Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers and Haydn Hughes, and then opposition members Jose Vanterpool and Shellya Rogers-Webster.
Last June, during an Executive Council meeting, Bradley announced that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) had been awarded the contract to conduct a public service pay and grading review, and it had begun.
Throughout the next year, the independent consultants spoke with employees and independently assessed public sector roles, responsibilities and salaries against regional benchmarks.
On 8 June this year, Premier Cora Richardson Hodge announced during a sitting of the Anguilla House of Assembly, that the review process was complete.
The resulting report – which has not been made public – included recommendations for the increased compensation for elected members.
Figures announced
Education minister Shellya Rogers-Webster first revealed the new pay structure at a government press conference on 7 September following a request, directed at the premier, from a member of the media.
She announced salaries for the premier, ministers, opposition leader, opposition members, speaker and parliamentary secretary, and said the deputy governor’s pay is “in line” with ministers’.
The minister said the figures outlined included the only allowance that parliamentarians are entitled to, which is $400 per month to pay for phone use.
However, the pay scales she provided differed slightly from figures set out in a statement issued by the premier later the same day.
In her statement, the premier clarified that the updated numbers were different “due to a few irregularities resulting from having eight elected members in government”.
She said the senior ministerial assistant, deputy speaker, parliamentary secretary and ministerial assistant also had pay adjustments “to reflect their roles” – but did not provide exact figures.
Anguilla Focus has reached out to the government for the former pay scale for elected members and is awaiting a response.
