There were no apologies for absence.

There were no Substitute Members.

There were no Visiting Members.

The Head of HR Shared Services declared a personal interest on behalf of Officers present in Agenda Item 9 – review of Pay Scales 2012.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED: That the items on Part II of the Agenda be taken in private as proposed.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 4 July 2011 be approved as a correct record and signed.

The Panel considered the report of the Chief Executive regarding a requirement of the Localism Act 2011 which requires English and Welsh local authorities to produce a pay policy statement for 2012/13 and for each financial year after that.

The Head of HR Shared Service informed the Panel that there are some areas, e.g. the pay multiplier, where clarification is still being sought and, therefore, minor changes may need to be made to the Pay Policy Statement before it is published.

The Panel asked a number of questions regarding, inter alia, definition of earnings, car allowances/mileage rates, market supplements and training of current staff.

The Head of HR Shared Service circulated amendments to the following areas of the Pay Policy Statement:-

·  Pay multiplier (page 15)

·  Car allowances and Bonuses (page 13)

·  National Information (Appendix D)

·  Explanation of information published (Appendix I(H))

The Panel felt that as there was currently no member of staff receiving a market supplement, then the Pay Policy Statement should say just that.

RESOLVED: 

1.  That Council be recommended:-

i)  To approve the Pay Policy Statement, as amended by the Head of HR Shared Service and subject to the following amendments:-

Page 11, 3.2 – Market Supplements – delete all wording, except for the last sentence “Currently there are no employees in receipt of Market Supplements within the Council.”

  Page 13, 3.5 – Car Allowances – include the mileage rates paid for the two levels of car allowance.

ii)  That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Chairman and Political Group Spokespersons, be given delegated authority to make minor amendments to the Pay Policy Statement, if required, prior to publication, including any amendments required following the negotiations with trade unions on the annual pay review.

2.  That a further analysis of the car allowances figures and mileage rates be undertaken by Officers and reported back to this Panel.

RESOLVED: That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business because of the likely disclosure of exempt information for the reasons specified, having applied the Public Interest Test:-

  Head of Schedule 12A and Brief Description

Review of Pay Scales 2012  4 = Labour Relations

The Panel considered the report of the Chief Executive regarding a review of the current pay scales.

RESOLVED: That the recommendations be approved.

6.30 p.m. to 8.50 p.m.