Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held 28 July 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held 28 July 2023 were approved and signed.

To inform members of the Employment Committee of the updated Capability Policy.

Members considered the Capability Policy report presented by Sam Anthony.

Proposed by Councillor Benney, seconded by Councillor Davis and AGREED to note the policy and approve the adoption of the revised Capability Policy. 

To inform and make recommendation for the adoption of an updated Fenland District Council pension discretions document.

Members considered the Pension Discretions Update report presented by Marie Harley.

Members make comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Nawaz asked if there is anything more that members need to know, given that this is legislation driven and of no cost to the Council. Marie Harley responded that the driver for change was purely to introduce the option for employees to increase their pension benefits and the only requirement on Fenland District Council is to administer that process. Councillor Nawaz said if the Council is merely facilitating the process for the employee, then he could not see why the recommendations should not be approved.

·         Councillor Davis commented that she is personally reaping the benefits from having paid AVCs when working; it is good to facilitate the scheme and she believes this to be a win-win situation all round.

·         Councillor Christy agreed with Councillor Davis that this is a good scheme that pays dividends in the future, and he would hope that HR encourage staff to take up this offer, it is an enhancement to the comprehensive set of existing employee benefits.

Proposed by Councillor Nawaz seconded by Councillor Gowler and AGREED to approve the recommended changes to the discretions statement to be exercised under the LGPS Regulations.

To update on recruitment and retention issues within the planning team and to

request approval for the introduction of market supplement for new and existing staff.

The Appendix to this report comprises exempt information – to exclude the public

(including the press) from a meeting of a committee it is necessary for the following

proposition to be moved and adopted: “that the public be excluded from the meeting

for Items which would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined

in the paragraphs 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as

amended) as indicated.”

Members considered the Planning Team Recruitment and Retention – Market Supplement report presented by Carol Pilson.

Carol Pilson apologised for an error at 3.1 of the published report in which the figures quoted, £47,500 in Years 1 and 3, should read £55,000 in Years 1 and 3.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Christy commented that many local councils use this approach to attract the right candidates and it is a situation that he has discussed at great length with officers.

·         Councillor Davis said she supports this request, there have been problems in Planning for some time and they need to be addressed. Planning is a front facing department and if things go wrong it is reputational for the Council, and she is glad the supplement will also be applied to existing staff. Councillor Davis added that a lot of money has been paid in agency fees and reputationally it is not good to be seen to employing so many agency staff.

·         Councillor Nawaz said that in essence he supports this, but he would like to know how the market supplement figure was arrived at and if any research has been undertaken to see if that figure is too little or too much. Carol Pilson responded that the precise figure is subjective, however research was undertaken, and a benchmarking table in the report compares salary levels with other local district councils, with senior posts being in the upper quartile by just a small amount. When attracting people to work at the Council, consideration needs to be given to their individual situations and what will entice them from the comfort of their existing roles. Carol Pilson added that the Council has tried but been unable to attract applicants with the existing salaries and benefits on offer without a market supplement and some roles have had little or no response. Despite all the positives that the Council can offer as an organisation in terms of culture and the one team approach along with all the other benefits, this is a competitive market with other councils and agencies. The Council now needs to test the market to see if the right call has been made to attract good quality candidates but whilst using public money responsibly.

·         Councillor Nawaz said that he understands then that the figure is subjective but there has been no objective market research and the figure just chosen as what may be an inducement. He asked if anyone had been recruited to the additional planning posts which were approved at the last meeting. Carol Pilson responded that the planning policy roles had not yet been advertised, pending this discussion, so have not yet been tested on the market. However, in terms of evidence, when still in a shared service arrangement with Peterborough, the Council tried to engage agency staff and could not get them. From experience around advertising, the same external factors exist for principal and senior planners, with some of these roles having been  ...  view the full minutes text for item EC13/23