Agenda item

To consider the report of the Head of Organisational Development.

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Organisational Development.

At the invitation of the Chair, the Organisational Development Manager – Payroll, Health & Safety spoke to the report which contained the main proposals included within the 2022/23 draft report of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (the Panel) as they related to Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council.  The officer continued by highlighting the following points:

-      The Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 required the Panel’s Annual Report to take effect from 1^st April and in most years this was in line with financial and administrative arrangements of all authorities. However, when new councils were elected some of the Panel’s determinations were to become effective for the new municipal term.

On 9^th May, 2022, new municipal arrangements would come into effect following local government elections. This Annual Report, therefore, had two different effective dates as set out below:

For the period 1^st April, 2022 to 8^th May, 2022, all of the determinations contained in the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales’ Annual Report 2021/2022 would continue to apply in respect of principal councils and community and town councils.

With effect from 9^th May, 2022, (the new municipal year) the determinations set out in Sections 3 and 13 of the report would apply to principal councils and community and town councils.

-      It was noted that the basic salary of councillors of principal councils elected in the May 2022 local elections would be reset to align with the 2020 Annual Survey of Hourly Earnings (ASHE) and this sum would be £16,800.

-      Table 2.3.3 detailed the payment of basic & senior salaries for 2022/23.  The proposed increases varied from 10.5% to 19%.

The Organisational Development Manager – Payroll, Health & Safety concluded by outlining the options contained in paragraph 3 of the report.

The Chair of the Democratic Services Committee advised that the Committee had considered the draft report and had debated it at length on 8^th November, 2021. The Committee felt strongly that it could not support the proposed excessive increases in the levels of remuneration as set out in the draft IRPW report for 2022/23 (apart from the recommendation relating to the contributions towards the cost of care and personal assistance) in this current climate of austerity as a result of Covid-19, the Government’s low pay offer to Council staff of 1.75% and to NHS workers who had put themselves at risk throughout the pandemic and due to the situation that some key workers were still earning the minimum wage. 

In reply to a question, the Organisational Development Manager advised that the take up was very low in terms of claims for the cost of care and personal assistance.

The Leader of the Labour Group echoed the comments made by the Chair of the Democratic Services Committee and advised that the view of the Labour Group and Minority Independent Group was that this was not the right time to propose any increases to remuneration levels and said that Members needed to support the workforce at this current time.

He continued by referring to a Chair of Committee that had been allowed to take a special responsibility allowance with an outside body and expressed his concern that whilst this was not in breach of the rules he reiterated his comments from a previous meeting that from a morale standpoint this was not right.  In addition, he took the opportunity raise the ‘stealth’ appointments of two Members on Silent Valley Waste Services Board and expressed his concern that there had been insufficient transparency around these appointments (from a public perspective), a point that he had been consistently making for the last 4 years.

The Leader of the Labour Group continued by stating that Members had been advised at the commencement of the process, that when review of Silent Valley had concluded that these Member appointments would end, however, he felt that these Members had been allowed to remain in these positions until the Council term concluded because this was another mechanism in which to pay two additional senior responsibility allowances.  He also added that he had yet to have sight of a report from the Board Members with regard to their role and responsibilities.

A Member advised that he had raised at the recent Democratic Services Committee the payment of two senior responsibility allowances because at the original Council meeting that this had been discussed, a number of claims had been made about repayment of those monies.  There had also been some confusion at this meeting that this was in breach of the rules but this had been confirmed that this was permissible within the IRPW rules and regulations.

Another Member said that openness and transparency in public life was extremely important and pointed out that the Leader of the Labour Group undertook two roles but only received payment for one.

The Leader of the Council commenced by stating with regard to the National Park Authority appointment, as stated in a previous meeting, he advised that the Member was the best individual for the role and part of the stipulation in terms of appointments to a National Park Authority and which would be reinforced by the Welsh Government Minister, was that unless there were extenuating circumstances, any member of the National Park Authority should come from a ward that sat within the boundary of the National Park.  This Member had been appointed to the role from the commencement of the term office and, therefore, there was a solid argument for continuity and this appointment was completely permissible within the rules.

With regard to Silent Valley, the Council was complying with what had been agreed in 2017 whereby a review of the organisation was to be undertaken and the Council had agreed unanimously to appoint two Members to the Board as directors – there had been no lack of transparency regarding these appointments and nothing underhand being undertaken.  The Silent Valley Waste Services Board appointments had been approved at Annual Council and were included annually within the list of outside bodies, therefore, there had been no lack of transparency with regard to these appointments. 

Regarding the comment made about the Leader of the Labour Group undertaking two roles, this had always been the case and was appropriate as the Leader of the Opposition Group who was paid a senior responsibility allowance, took responsibility for chairing a Scrutiny Committee as other Opposition Group Leader had done in the past.

The Leader of the Labour Group advised this was not the case in other authorities across Wales and he had agreed to Chair a Scrutiny Committee in order to save the Council having to pay a further special responsibility allowance.  He reiterated that Silent Valley were ‘stealth’ appointments and expressed his concern regarding the length of time it had taken to undertake the review of the organisation and said he firmly believed that this was another mechanism that was being used in which to pay two additional senior responsibility allowances to the end of the term of the Council.

A Member commented that Trefil which formed part of the Sirhowy Ward also sat within the boundary of the National Park Authority.  The Member who had also been appointed to the Park Authority previously whilst undertaking a Chair of Scrutiny Committee role advised that he had had to resign from the Park authority as a matter of principle, due to the amount of work and time commitments that was required to undertake the role of Chair of a Scrutiny Committee.

In reply to a question whether it was a pre-requisite of the appointment that the appointee’s ward sits within the park boundary, the Leader advised that it had been strongly suggested that the ward of the appointed representative should sit within the National Park boundaries and his understanding was that the appropriate Minister at Welsh Government would be making a strong recommendation to that effect.

The Leader of the Labour Group advised that in previous year’s representatives had been appointed to the National Park Authority whose wards sat outside the park boundary.  He felt that this was ridiculous and that the Leader was misleading Council and asked to have sight of a definite statement to that effect.

The Leader of the Council assured the Member that he had never had or never would mislead Council and reiterated that this was a strong recommendation i.e. that the ward of the Member appointed to the National Park Authority should sit within the park boundary.

A discussion ensued when the Chair of the Democratic Services Committee proposed that Option 2 be endorsed subject to the comments of Democratic Services Committee as outlined above i.e. that the Committee felt strongly that it could not support the proposed excessive increases in the levels of remuneration as set out in the draft IRPW report for 2022/23 (apart from the recommendation relating to the contributions towards the cost of care and personal assistance).  This proposal was seconded.

It was unanimously,

RESOLVED, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted and Option 2 be endorsed, namely that the comments above on the determinations in the draft IRPW report for 2022/2023 be submitted to the IRP as part of the consultation process that would conclude on 26^th November, 2021.

The Managing Director on a point of clarification regarding the reporting of information regarding Silent Valley Waste Services advised that the overview of the company had been strengthened since 2017 and there had been reports into Scrutiny, most recently in October 2021 and this information was then subsequently, considered by the Executive Committee.

The Leader of the Labour Group advised that whilst reports had been received via the scrutiny process relating to Silent Valley Board, no updates had been provided to Council by those individual Members who had been appointed as Board Directors.