Agenda and minutes

Report HR15003

Under the local terms and conditions of employment framework, the Committee was required to make a recommendation to Council on the pay award for the forthcoming year as part of the Council’s budget planning process. Against the background of the significant budget gap facing the Council a flat rate 1.2% increase was proposed for all staff, except teachers. The three trade unions, Unison, GMB and Unite, had submitted a joint pay claim for a flat rate £1 an hour increase for all staff and implementation of the TUC minimum wage figure of £10 per hour, which the management side had rejected.

The Chairman invited the Staff-Side Secretary, Glenn Kelly, to address the Committee. He referred to the decline in living standards endured by Council staff in recent years, the major rises in housing costs in the last twelve months, the 25% fall in the Council’s wage bill and the Council’s £100m in reserves. He asserted that 10% of the Council’s staff earned less than the London Living Wage. The Director of Human Resources countered that the trade union claim was totally unrealistic and would cost the Council £5m and local pay rises had been higher than if the Council had remained in the national agreement. Not a single member of staff had stated that the proposed award was unreasonable.

The Committee considered the proposed award and most Members thought that the proposed increase of 1.2% was reasonable. The Chairman invited Mr Kelly to have a final say, and he emphasised that the union claim was an attempt to recover some of the lost ground from many years of below inflation rises, and that a flat rate award would be fairer to low paid staff than a percentage increase.

RESOLVED that

(1) Council be recommended to approve a flat 1.2% pay increase for all staff (excluding teachers, who are covered by a separate statutory pay negotiating process).

(2) It is noted that the pay increase is again higher than the average pay settlement for local government staff negotiated at national/regional levels between the Unions and Local Government Employers, and that, as in the last two years since coming out of the nationally/regionally negotiated frameworks, Bromley staff will receive the 2015/16 pay increase in time for the April payroll.

(3) The Union pay claims for (i) a flat rate £1 an hour increase for all staff and (ii) a minimum wage figure of £10 per hour be rejected.

Report HR15002

Under the Localism Act 2011 the Council was required to approve and publish a Pay Policy Statement each year. The statement had been updated to include the proposal to offer spot salaries for all new appointments with effect from 1^st April 2015, the proposed review of car user allowances in line with the HMRC rate and the formalisation of the Chief Executive’s pay and appraisal review process. 

RESOLVED that full Council be recommended to approve the 2015/16 Pay Policy Statement and establish the Chief Executive’s Appraisal and Pay Committee.

Report HR15001

Following the implementation of a localised pay and conditions of employment framework the Council was able to innovate and provide flexible reward strategies to reflect local circumstances and support performance management. It was proposed that all new staff, including internal appointments, would be appointed on a spot salary within the job-evaluated grade appropriate to the post. 

The Chairman invited the Staff-Side Secretary, Glenn Kelly, to address the Committee on the proposals. He stated that the existing arrangements were fair and respected and that this was another attack by the Council on its own employees that would discourage people from joining the Council. The Director of Human Resources countered that this was a misleading interpretation of the proposals. LB Camden had already implemented a similar spot salary approach and had suffered no adverse impact on recruitment. 

RESOLVED that

(1) All new appointments, including internal appointments/promotions will receive an offer of employment based on a spot salary within the grade salary range commensurate to the post/appointment with no incremental progression within the grade.

(2) Each spot salary will be reviewed annually, aligned with the annual performance appraisal process, and may be reviewed at any other time at the manager’s discretion, based on the merits of the case.

(3) The agreement will apply to all new appointments with effect from 1^st April 2015.

Report ES15013

The Committee received a report informing them of a decision to cease non-statutory public consultation for licence applications under the Licensing Act 2013 and the Gambling Act 2005 as part of the required budget savings of £612k for Public Protection and Safety for 2015/16 that would reduce the service to the statutory baseline of two licensing officers.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Report FSD15013

The Committee considered a report outlining proposed changes to the structure and governance arrangement s of Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) required under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 and associated Regulations and seeking approval for the establishment of a Local Pension Board.

The proposals had been considered by the Pensions Investment Sub-Committee on 3^rd February 2015 and the minutes from that meeting had been circulated, together with a sheet containing additional recommendations arising from the final Regulations laid before Parliament on 28^th January 2015 and revised guidance from the LGPS Shadow Scheme Advisory Board. 

The Sub-Committee considered that the introduction of Pension Boards in local authorities such as Bromley caused duplication both from an additional layer of bureaucracy and from additional unnecessary costs, at a time of reduced budgets. It was proposed that, to keep costs to a minimum, the Board should comprise only four members, two to be employer representatives and two to be scheme member representatives (these did not have to be members, but had to be capable of representing their interests.

The Pensions Investment Sub-Committee urged the Secretary of State to remove the additional burden of having to set up a Local Pension Board by allowing local authorities with good governance schemes to opt out. The final Regulations included the possibility of combining the Local Pension Board with the existing Pensions Sub-Committee, although criteria and conditions for doing this were still awaited, and Members had considered that this option should be pursued. 

RESOLVED that Council be recommended to

(i) approve the establishment of a Local Pension Board;

(ii) approve the composition of the Local Pension Board as set out in section 3.17 of the report;

(iii) approve the draft terms of reference (appendix 2 to the report) subject to incorporating the following amendments –

·  the Board should meet once a year;

·  in the event of non-attendance, membership will be reviewed (amended from consistent non-attendance);

·  clarifying the process for the replacement of Board members who die in office; Board Members will be invited to attend meetings of the Pensions Investment Sub-Committee.

(iv) delegate authority to the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Pensions Investment Sub-Committee and the Chairman of the General Purposes and Licensing Committee to make any agreed changes to the draft terms of reference as set out in paragraph 3.18 of the report;

(v) agree the process for nominations and appointments as set out in paragraphs 3.22 and 3.23 of the report and that

(a) appointment of two employer representatives be made by Council;

(b) appointment of the two member representatives be formally delegated to the General Purposes and Licensing Committee on the recommendation of an appointments panel as constituted in paragraph 3.23 of the report and in the terms of reference.

(vi) delegate authority to the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Pensions Investment Sub-Committee and the Chairman of the  General Purposes and Licensing Committee to make any changes necessary arising from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

Report CSD15015

The Council was required to make a scheme of members’ allowances for the forthcoming year. Allowances had remained frozen since 2009 and, with the continuing pressure on the Council’s budgets, Members concluded that they should remain at the current level for 2015/16.   

RESOLVED that Council be recommended to approve the Members Allowances Scheme for 2015/16 and the Mayoral and Deputy Mayoral allowances for 2015/16 with allowances remaining at the current levels. 

The Chairman to move that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business listed below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.