Notes of the Meeting of The

Agenda Item 1

Notes of the Meeting of the JOINT COUNCIL FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES 31 March 2014 - Held at West Suffolk House, Bury St Edmunds Present

Name Organisation Group Cllr John Kent (Chair) Thurrock Council Labour Kevin O’Grady Unison Cllr Christopher Kemp South Norfolk Council Conservative Cllr Mandy Perkins Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Conservative Cllr Bob Farrer Huntingdonshire District Council Independent Cllr Robert Whiting Suffolk County Council Conservative Ann Glover Unison Jeff Grace Unison Mark Johnson Unison Val Rogacs Unison Vicky Cooper Unison Rob Turner Unison Cathy Holland GMB Mark Morris GMB Diane Mullane GMB Jason Childs GMB Doug Rigby GMB Kevin Roberts GMB Richard O’Leary GMB

Apologies Cllr Andrew Proctor Broadland DC Conservative Cllr Jim ranger East Hertfordshire District Council Conservative Cllr John Kent Thurrock Borough Council Labour Stephen Maraj Unison Dawn Sadler Unison

In Attendance

Michelle Kirk East of England LGA Craig Spencer East of England LGA

1 The meeting commenced at 12:00

Declarations of Interest: None

1. Minutes from previous meeting

1.1. Apologies were noted and introductions were made.

1.2. The minutes from the previous Regional Joint Council were agreed as correct.

2. Matters Arising

2.1. Ann Glover said that for the pay claim going forward, Unison would be looking to register an early claim.

3. Future Working/Wellbeing Charter

3.1. Michelle Kirk highlighted the future working arrangements for 2014-16, and that hopefully these would be different going forward.

3.2. There will be an early June on the Wellbeing Charter, with public bodies across the region coming together. The aim will be to achieve a standard, working alongside trade union representatives to encourage a higher level of wellbeing and hopefully productivity.

3.3. The joint secretaries will try to get the trade unions involved with the local authorities. The group agreed this was a good idea and it was important to treat sickness in a proactive way.

4. Joint Secretaries Report

4.1. There have been proposals on the terms and conditions over pay at East Hertfordshire District Council. There are further suggestions over how to take this forward and this will be revisited.

4.2. There are still problems over the recognition of trade unions at Huntingdonshire District Council. Ann Glover is set to have a call with the Chief Executive of the council to solve the problem.

4.3. EELGA are providing training on job evaluations and two thirds of councils are now involved. A refresher course is being set up for trade union representatives and employers.

5. Employers Update

5.1. The update was noted and accepted by the Council.

6. Trade Union Update 6.1. Ann Glover explained the difficult position that public health sits, in between local government and the NHS. This means that they are not entitled to either pay award, and therefore there is a moral obligation look at this issue.

6.2. My Homecare, a care provider used by local authorities is not paying travel time to their employees and this is consequently meaning their pay is under the minimum wage. This

2 is happening in Essex, Hertfordshire and Peterborough. Michelle Kirk stated that due to the working time directive, this should require care providers to pay these fees. It was also recommended that instances of this should be reported to the EELGA Employers Services team.

6.3. This practice was greed as abhorrent and many stated that this had been happening across all areas and needed to be stopped.

6.4. Michelle Kirk spoke of a project at Suffolk County Council, supporting lives through community care, and recommended that the next meeting Rob Kirkpatrick (Area Lead) is invited to talk to the group. It was also suggested that Social Care portfolio holders should be invited too.

6.5. Action: MK to invite Adult Social Care team from Suffolk County Council to present at next Regional Joint Council.

7. Pensions Update

7.1. Richard O’Leary stated that the Local Government Pension Scheme had recently had some changes to the scheme due to outsourcing. The Joint Secretaries will look into this situation.

7.2. The establishment of the new pension boards was raised. There are currently differing levels of engagement from the boards, with trade unions expressing that their attendance is vital to be able to represent themselves. Members agreed with this statement and stated that trade unions should be included.

8. Employment Legislation Update

8.1. The group thanked EELGA for the update and spoke of its continued importance.

9. Apprenticeship Survey

9.1. The apprenticeship survey analysis was tabled and shared with attendees. It was noted there had not been sufficient responses and it was beneficial to look at the types of apprenticeships being created. However, there were suggestions that the success of these apprenticeships turning into permanent roles should also be recorded.

9.2. Action: CS to circulate apprenticeship survey analysis

9.3. Ann Glover added it would also be useful to know which local authorities had not responded, so that these could be urged to complete this. Ann also added that Unison have recently funded a post across the region looking into health and other sectors to encourage apprenticeships.

9.4. Cllr Kent said that apprenticeships were important to encourage, especially with the lack of funding for careers advice within education.

9.5. Cllr Whiting stated that the lack of responses had been a disappointment and advised that it is important to target the unresponsive local authorities. He also highlighted the importance of the conversion rate of apprenticeships into jobs and it was also crucial to look at the break down of business administrative roles.

3 9.6. Mark Johnson explained that Unison offered mentoring schemes and training for apprentices. This is already happening in West Suffolk with the college and has been successful in developing the skills of young people.

10. AOB

10.1. No other business was stated and the meeting was ended.

Meeting close: 12:55