Meeting documents

General Purposes Committee
Monday, 23 November 2009

general purposes committee

MINUTES of the Meeting held in the Council Chamber, Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne on Monday 23rd November 2009 from 7:00 pm to 9:22 pm.

Present: Councillor Bowles (Chairman), Councillor Gerry Lewin (Vice-Chairman), Councillors Mike Cosgrove, Duncan Dewar-Whalley, Nicholas Hampshire (substitute for Councillor David Simmons), Harrison, Elvina Lowe, Pat Sandle and Worrall.

Officers Present: Philippa Davies, Mark Radford and Dena Smart.

Also In Attendance: Councillor Mike Henderson.

Apologies: Councillor David Simmons.

498  

election of chairman

RESOLVED:

(1) That Councillor Bowles be elected Chairman for the remainder of the Municipal Year 2009/10.
 
499  

election of vice-chairman

RESOLVED:

(1) That Councillor Gerry Lewin be elected Vice-Chairman for the remainder of the Municipal Year 2009/10.
 
500  

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

The Corporate Services Director reminded Members that as he and the Interim Head of Organisational Development were members of staff at Swale Borough Council, they had an interest in the matters being discussed, but they were also required by the Committee to attend the meeting in order to offer advice to Members.

 
501  

terms of reference

The Corporate Services Director confirmed that the Terms of Reference for the General Purposes Committee had been agreed at Council on 14th October 2009 and were tabled for Members' information.

 
 

part b minutes for information

 
502  

pension discretions

The Interim Head of Organisational Development introduced her report which set out the need to update Swale Borough Council's (SBC) policy on the employer discretions within the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). She explained that the discretionary pension policies at SBC were last updated in 2006.

The Interim Head of Organisational Development brought Members' attention to Appendices A and B in the report and outlined the main proposed changes to employer discretions which were highlighted in bold in Appendix A. She explained that Regulations 7(9)(a) and 23(4) had been deleted as they were no longer relevant.

The Interim Head of Organisational Development answered questions. She confirmed that there would be no additional cost in adopting the proposals in Appendix A and some of the regulations might not be required but were recommended in order to provide flexibility.

A Member requested that a list of titles showing categories of pensionable salary items be provided to enable comparisons to be made when reviews were carried out in the future. The Interim Head of Organisational Development confirmed that she would look into adding the term 'exceptional circumstances' to Regulation 14(3)(b) as was present in Regulation 22(2).

Interim Head of Organisational Development
RESOLVED:

(1) That the amended Pension Discretions be agreed, with the inclusion of 'exceptional circumstances' to Regulation 14(3)(b).
 
503  

exclusion of the press and public

RESOLVED:

(1) That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.
 
 

part b minutes for information

 
504  

pay and reward consultation document

The Interim Head of Organisational Development introduced her report which gave a background and summarised the findings of a review of pay and rewards for Officers at Swale Borough Council. She set out the current situation and the need for change, in particular in respect of the existing pay scales and the implications of equal pay. She gave a presentation to Members to ensure they had all received the same information.

The Interim Head of Organisational Development outlined the drivers for change and explained that changes were needed to be in line with the Workforce Strategy. The Executive had requested one new pay scale that was linked to performance.

The Interim Head of Organisational Development brought Members' attention to the Briefing and Consultation Document within the report which included the following: the case for a review of Pay and Reward; the process for change; and the Pay and Reward Strategy. She explained that the document presented a total package which would be consulted on, through collective bargaining. Letters would then be sent to each member of staff informing them of the outcome of the pay and reward review, ideally in April 2010.

Discussion ensued and the Interim Head of Organisational Development answered questions.

A substantive motion was proposed, but when put to the vote, the proposal was lost.

RESOLVED:

(1) That Members agree that the Briefing and Consultation Document be used as the basis for the Chief Executive to reach an agreement with the Trade Unions, including the proposed variances, and that any variances required to the proposals are agreed in consultation with the Leader and are subject to ratification by the General Purposes Committee.
 
All Minutes are draft until agreed at the next meeting of the Committee/Panel

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