Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interests in the items under consideration and in doing so state:

(1) the type of interest concerned either a

(a)   personal interest

(b)   prejudicial interest

(c)    disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI)

and

(2) the nature of the interest concerned

If any member requires advice on declarations of interests, they are advised to contact the Head of Democratic Governance in advance of the meeting.

Councillor Blackburn declared a personal interest in relation to Item 4 on the agenda, the nature of which was his membership of the National Joint Council for Coroners.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 20 September 2017 as a true and correct record.

The Committee agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2017 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To consider the Council’s proposed Pay Policy Statement and local election fees.

Mrs Linda Dutton, Head of Human Resources and Workforce Development, explained to the Committee that the Council had a duty to agree a pay policy statement before 31 March each year, one which was consistent with the guidance from the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The report referred to areas which the statement must set out that include Chief Officer remuneration, remuneration of its lowest paid employees and the relationship between Chief Officer Remuneration and that of other staff. 

In addition to this guidance, Mrs Dutton suggested that it was good practice for Local Authorities in the interest of data transparency to disclose publicly: Employee’s salaries (that earn £50,000 and above), an organisational chart, and the pay multiple, or ratio between the highest paid salary and the median average salary of the whole authority’s workforce.

The Committee considered the report and in particular the section on gender equality in relation to pay scales. Mr Jack suggested that levels of pay within the Local Authority compared favourably to those in other authority areas and that Blackpool Council aimed to continue to ensure consistent male and female representation and remuneration.  Following a question from Cllr Galley regarding government guidance on equality and pay, Mrs Dutton responded that she was unaware of the existence of any such guidance but expected that if significant discrepancies existed in any given authorities workforce, then the Government would likely seek evidence of a plan or specific measures designed to address the issue. Mrs Dutton advised that Blackpool Council already had measures in place to ensure greater equality, for example, applications were actively encouraged from both sexes and the offer of flexible working arrangements was extended wherever possible to all employees.

It was reported that Blackpool Transport Company, as the largest of the Council owned companies would be expected to publish information about its workforce and the gender of employees in various roles and their salaries.

Resolved:

The Committee agreed to recommend Council to approve the proposed Pay Policy Statement as outlined in the report.

To consider the attached circulars in connection with the pay of the Senior Coroner for Blackpool and Fylde and the four Assistant Coroners.

Mr Towers, Director of Governance and Partnerships explained that the purpose of this report was to consider the pay of the Senior Coroner for Blackpool and Fylde and the four Assistant Coroners to bring into effect the recommendations of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Coroners, as far as they applied to the Blackpool and Fylde coronial area.

The Joint Negotiating Committee for Coroners had agreed to undertake a job evaluation exercise to assess the roles set out in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and the Senior Coroner’s pay had been historically directed by national recommendations.

The Committee was advised that the current daily rate for Assistant Coroners was £300 per day and it had been agreed to increase this to the bottom of the range recommended as £375 per day for the four Assistant Coroner positions for Blackpool and Fylde from 1 May 2018. For the first time it was also recommended that Assistant Coroners be able to be part of the Local Government Pension scheme.

Following a question about Coroner pension contributions, Mr Towers responded that these would also have to be taken into account and formed part of the payments the Local Authority was obligated to make.

Resolved:

To agree that the Senior Coroner be appointed to the bottom of the pay range at £117,000 p.a. from 1 May 2018.