Agenda item

An update on HR matters is provided from the Service Director for Human Resources and Organisational Development.  The Committee is asked to note the update and comment as appropriate.

The Portfolio Holder for Customer Care and Service Director will be in attendance to present the update and answer questions.

The Service Director for HR and Organisational Development attended the meeting to present the update on HR related matters as requested at the Committee’s previous meeting on 15 July 2010.

The Corporate Director for Resources and Portfolio Holder for Customer Care were also in attendance to answer questions arising.

The following information was received:

a)         Pay Harmonisation and associated matters

At the Committee’s meeting in May it was clarified that school support staff were now required to be included in the harmonisation process.  This increased employee numbers from approximately 6k to 12k.  As a result, the potential cost implications also doubled.  Due to the financial constraints and pressures now faced by the council and cost implications to incorporate the additional employees, pay harmonisation was now to be achieved through implementation of Wiltshire Council pay and conditions with protection for TUPED staff.

It was expected that the council would reach pay harmonisation within 18 months as the number of staff who transferred to Wiltshire Council on 1 October 2009 on TUPED conditions was now less than 1100.  The reorganisation of the Council was also likely to affect the numbers remaining as staff transferred onto standard terms and conditions.  A review would take place in the latter half of 2011 to ascertain the number of staff remaining on TUPED conditions.

            Discussions were underway with Union representatives regarding future changes within the authority taking into consideration the financial constraints ahead.  

Although the results of the comprehensive spending review were still to be announced it was expected that the proposed 25% reduction in funding would result in a loss of £122m to the local authority.  Therefore scrutiny would need to ensure a corporate focus of its work for example on commissioning and procurement to ensure it delivered on efficiency targets.

The Council would look to achieve cost savings of £40m in 2011/12 against four key areas: procurement, people management, service review and improvement and income generation.  These would be formally documented within a business plan to be delivered to Cabinet before the end of December and Full Council in February 2011.

As part of the proposed people management cost savings, LGR terms relating to appointment and severance were being reviewed.  These would be the subject of report to the Staffing Policy Committee in October.

b)         People Strategy

The Leadership Development Programme

            Clarification was provided that the Programme budget had been agreed prior to the government’s announcements on proposed budgetary reductions to local authorities and had been funded through reallocation of existing budgets for 2009/10.

            Of the current £851k budget, £236k had already been committed to year end from the combined Leadership and Management Development funding and applied to approximately 800 managers across the organisation;       £174k had been allocated against HR on line systems training, the management trainee scheme and employee survey; £25k had been allocated for occupational health to provide staff support and a further £30k had been agreed for an employee systems programme.

            The Service Director confirmed that a meeting was scheduled to take place with the Shaping the Future business management team later this month where the budget allocations within the Leadership Development Programme would be further discussed.

            Following concerns raised on the funding allocated to management development, clarity was provided that the £236k cost applied to a one year development programmes that had already commenced and was the total funding available that applied to approximately 800 managers.  The Committee was reminded that improved management leadership was vital to the progression of the organisation as a whole.  The outcome of the management programmes would not been seen initially but would be demonstrated through higher performance and the ability to manage changes ahead.

The Chairman concluded that the committee would continue to monitor the processes involved both through the business plan and also through regular updates from officer and the scrutiny representative on the Pay Harmonisation Board (now renamed Staffing Management Executive Board). 

Resolved:

1)                 To thank Officers and the Portfolio holder for reporting on recent developments and responding to questions.

2)                 That the committee would receive a further update on HR matters at it’s meeting in November 2010 and track the resulting implications through the new Corporate Business Plan.