Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, 13 Church Street, Clitheroe, BB7 2RA

Contact: Mike Hill 

Items
No. Item

228.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence for the meeting were received from Councillors S Rainford and R Thompson.

229.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 218 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2021 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

230.

Declarations of pecuniary and non pecuniary interests

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in the agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of pecuniary and non-pecuniary interest.

231.

Public participation (if any)

Minutes:

There was no public participation.

232.

Workforce Profile - Update pdf icon PDF 133 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

The Director of Resources submitted a report updating Members on the workforce data that it is required to publish in compliance with the Equality Act 2010.

 

The report noted that members may wish to consider any positive action that could be taken to increase representation from under-represented groups or to identify any challenges posed by the Council’s current workforce demographic.

 

Members noted that for future reports it would be useful to have year-on-year data comparisons.

233.

Year end 2020/2021 - Performance Report pdf icon PDF 391 KB

Minutes:

The Director of Resources submitted a report providing members with details of the Council’s performance in 2020/2021 against a range of local performance indicators.

 

Members commented that the range of agreed indicators and targets could be adjusted to reflect how the Council currently operate and recommended that for any indicators where a target was not required data did not need to be collected.

234.

Reports from representatives on outside bodies

Minutes:

There were no reports from representatives on outside bodies.

235.

Exclusion of Press and Public

Minutes:

That by virtue of the next items of business being exempt information under   Paragraphs 1 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be now excluded from the meeting.

236.

General Staffing - Update

Minutes:

The report noted that:

·         Two new staff were appointed between 25 May 2021 and 31 July 2021.

·         In the same period, (25 May 2021 and 31 July 2021) there were ten leavers, two of which were optional retirements.

·         There were currently 35 vacancies across all Council departments (including casual and temporary posts).

·         Twelve posts were currently live, that is, advertised and interview dates scheduled.

·         Three pool posts were pending, subject to ongoing discussions regarding contractual changes.

·         Four posts were on hold.

·         The remainder of vacant posts were under consideration by Heads of Service and were awaiting further action.

 

The report also updated members on, new starters, leavers, internal movements, changes to the establishment, retirements, other staffing matters and training.

 

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

 

1.    Noted and approved the decisions taken by CMT and the Chairman as outlined in the report.

 

2.    Agreed to write letters of thanks to the staff who have had left the Council, where appropriate.

237.

Staff Establishment - Update

Minutes:

The Director of Resources submitted a report updating Members on the full staffing establishment for the Council.

 

Members were reminded that the staffing establishment included those posts based either at the Council offices or one of the Council’s other facilities.

 

The report noted that the Establishment List is a confidential document which is only held by the Chief Executive, Directors and HR and is a key document in controlling the Council’s overall budgets and expenditure.

238.

National Pay Negotiations - Update

Minutes:

The Director of Resources submitted a report updating members on the latest position in respect of the National Trade Union Pay Claim for 2021/2022.

 

Members were reminded that a pay claim for 2021/22 had been submitted by the NJC of the Trade Union side in February 2021.

 

The report noted that the claim was for:

·         A substantial increase with a minimum of 10% on all spinal column points.

·         The introduction of a homeworking allowance for all staff who are working from home.

·         A national minimum agreement on homeworking policies for all Councils.

·         A reduction in the working week to 35 hours with no loss of pay, and a reduction to 34 hours a week in London.

·         Part time staff to be given a choice of a pro rata reduction or retaining the same hours and being paid a higher percentage of FTE.

·         A minimum of 25 days annual leave plus public holidays and statutory days for all starting employees plus an extra day holiday on all other holiday rates that depend on service.

·         An agreement on a best practice national programme of mental health support for all local authorities and school staff.

·         A joint review of job descriptions, routes for career developments and pay banding for school support staff, and completion of the outstanding work of the joint term-time only review group.

·         A joint review of the provisions in the Green Book for maternity/paternity/shared parental/adoption leave.

 

Members were informed that the Employers had responded to the Unions’ claim with a one year offer of:

·         An increase of 1.5% on all NJC pay points at scp 1 and above.

·         Completion of outstanding work of the joint Term-Time only review group
Plus a proposal that the NJC begin exploratory discussions on other elements of the Trade Unions’ claim.

The above offer had been rejected by the Unions and the National Employers had made a final offer in July 2021 of:

·      An increase of 2.75% on NJC pay point 1 and 1.75% on all NJC pay points at 2 and above with effect from 1 April 2021.

·       Completion of the outstanding work of the joint Term-Time only review group.

In addition, they indicated that they would hope to begin discussions on the non-pay elements of their initial offer.

Members were informed that the Unions were now holding consultation ballots on the final offer with their members.