Leader of the Council
Minutes:
109.1 The Chair invited Councillor Ward, Acting Leader of the Council, to introduce Paper BC/23/46.
109.2 Councillor Ward introduced Paper BC/23/46 to Members outlining its purpose and PROPOSED the recommendations as detailed in the report.
109.3 Councillor McCraw SECONDED the proposal.
109.4 Councillor Riley queried who undertook the revaluation of the Chief Executive’s pay and whether this was carried out in-house. Councillor Ward responded that external support was used.
109.5 Councillor Parker queried which position amongst Senior Leadership was currently half funded by Health. Councillor Ward responded that the Director of Communities and Wellbeing was a joint post held between Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils and the Integrated Care Board.
109.6 Councillor Riley questioned if under the new pay policy the Chief Executive would receive an increase in pay. Councillor Ward responded that the Chief Executive’s pay would increase to the next spinal column.
109.7 Councillor Riley further queried when the Deputy Chief Executive deputised for the Chief Executive. The Deputy Chief Executive responded that she was currently deputising for the Chief Executive at the Full Council meeting due to his absence.
109.8 Councillor Holt questioned whether the Council operated on performance related pay scales and whether this applied to the Chief Executive. Councillor Ward responded that the Chief Executive underwent yearly appraisals carried out by the two Leaders of the Council. The Deputy Chief Executive further added that during these appraisals, a survey would be sent to a randomly allocated group of staff to incorporate staff viewpoints.
109.9 Councillor Holt further questioned whether other Councillors would receive details of these appraisals and the benchmarks used. Councillor Ward responded that the Chief Executive was assessed on his delivery against the two Councils’ corporate plans and that this would give Councillors a good indication as to how performance was being measured.
109.10 Councillor Jamieson queried whether the Chief Executive’s pay directly related to performance and delivery against key objectives. Councillor Ward responded that there were not direct numerical key performance indicators (KPIs) detailed under these appraisals. Councillor Saw further added that a delivery plan was currently being created under all three sections of the corporate plan that would create measurable deliverables of which the Senior Leadership Team would be directly assessed against.
109.11 Councillor Holt queried how the Director of Communities position would now be funded due to its merge with the Economic portfolio. The Deputy Chief Executive responded that Health had confirmed they would still be funding 50% of the position.
109.12 Councillor Holt further questioned who received market forces supplements and how much this equated to. The Deputy Chief Executive responded that this related to posts that were particularly hard to recruit to where a low salary was a considerable reason for lack of recruitment, and clarified that these supplements were not permanent.
109.13 The Chair invited Members to debate the Paper.
109.14 Councillor Holt commented that there was little information about the financial implications of increased salaries on the Council.
109.15 Councillor Beer expressed that staff did excellent work but there would come a time where there would be no money left to fund pay increases and that remuneration needed to be realistic.
109.16 Councillor McCraw stated that the pay policy had been steady for many years, that £59,000 would be saved due to reductions in the size of the Senior Leadership Team, and that pay had to be improved to recruit and retain staff to avoid the need for costly interims.
109.17 Councillor Ward commented that this report was reviewed annually by Full Council and that the Chief Executive’s pay had not increased for a considerable number of years.
By a vote of 20 For, 6 Against, and 2 Abstentions
It was RESOLVED:
1.1 That the pay policy statement as set out in Appendix A be approved.
1.2 That publication of the Council’s gender pay gap, as of 31st March 2023, be noted.
1.3 That the payment rates for carrying out election duties as set out in Appendix C be noted.
Supporting documents: