Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Collett and Perry

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore all Members with a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore all Members with a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider, having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 4 of the Code, whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

Councillor Grajewski declared a personal interest with regards item 6 on the agenda (The Apprenticeship Levy) by virtue of being a Governor at Eastleigh College, which is a provider of apprenticeships.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 November 2017.

The minutes of the previous meeting were reviewed and agreed.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

No requests to make a deputation to this meeting had been received.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman had no announcements on this occasion.

To consider a report of the Director of Culture, Communities and Business Services regarding the implementation of the County Council’s Apprenticeship Levy programme.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Culture, Communities and Business Services regarding the implementation of the County Council’s Apprenticeship Levy programme.

The context of this Government initiative was set out and it was confirmed that the money top-sliced from the County Council was held in a digital account that could be drawn down for apprenticeship training. Training schemes must be approved and accredited in order to use the levy. The number of apprenticeships had declined as a result of suitable training schemes not being in place and for this reason the period in which it could be used had been extended to 24 months. Appendix 1 of the report was highlighted as it demonstrated how the County Council was seeking to convert existing training into apprenticeships and some of the difficulties with this were noted. It was confirmed that up to 10 percent of the levy could be transferred for use by staff in the Council’s supply chain and this concept was still being worked out nationally.

Members discussed the differences between the new standards and the previous framework and heard that there was now a greater level of prescription and also rigour, however not all of the standards had been defined, which was limiting progress. The anticipated split of the use of funding between new and existing staff was questioned and it was heard that this had not formally been defined, but the emphasis was likely to be on new staff as the off-job element would be easier to manage. The Committee acknowledged that with wholesale change a time lag was inevitable and noted that further analysis would be carried out on longer term targets.

The recommendations were considered and it was

RESOLVED:

That EHCC note the progress to date within the County Council to implement the levy and developing the Apprenticeship programme.

To consider a report of the Director of Corporate Resources regarding the national pay award and proposals for a new pay framework, outline arrangements for the temporary increase to the EHCC pay framework to meet the National Living Wage (NLW) increase from 1 April 2018, and an update on recent and pending legislative changes.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Corporate Resources regarding the national pay award and proposals for a new pay framework, outline arrangements for the temporary increase to the EHCC pay framework to meet the National Living Wage (NLW) increase from 1 April 2018, and an update on recent and pending legislative changes.

The context and impact of the new pay framework was introduced, in particular the need for grade consolidation to retain a 2 percent pressure and the £5 million pressure on the County Council budget. The Trade Union position both nationally and in Hampshire was set out and it was noted that around 20 percent of the County Council’s workforce was unionised. Mechanisms to ensure that increases in lower pay grades would match increases in the national living wage were detailed.

An update was provided on mandatory gender pay gap reporting, which was being compiled in accordance with national requirements and due to be published the day after the Committee’s meeting. Members heard that in principle there is no gender pay gap as everyone on a particular grade is paid equally. However the nature of some of the Council’s service delivery work and in particular the retention of direct service delivery had shaped the outcomes that were due to be published. Members acknowledged that Local Authorities would be difficult to compare and agreed that the Committee should review the published County Council figures at a future meeting.

The recommendations in the report were considered and it was

RESOLVED:

That EHCC:

·         note the application of the 2018 NJC national pay award to EHCC grades A to G, in accordance with the EHCC collective agreement;

·         note the application of a temporary increase to step 1 of Grade A if the NJC pay award is not implemented in time for 1 April 2018;

·         give authority to implement the 2018 NJC pay award to grades H to K, and those staff paid above grade K as long as it is in line with the current final offer of 2%. A pay award that is higher than this will need to be brought back to EHCC for agreement;

·         note that it is not possible at this time to make a recommendation of the best option for managing the implications of the 2019 NJC pay award and the new NJC pay framework for the EHCC pay framework. The position will continue to be closely monitored with options being developed for agreement by EHCC;

·         note the developments on the Gender Pay Gap report;

·         note the developments in relation to Exit Payment amendments;

·         further updates on the legislative changes will be provided only when further information is available.