The Head of HR Shared Services introduced the report and advised that:

·         Under the Localism Act 2011, the Council is required to review and approve its Pay Policy Statement annually.

·         The Statement must be approved by the relevant Committee and Full Council before being published on the Council’s website.

·         The report did not propose any decisions other than the approval of the updated Pay Policy Statement.

·         The format of the Statement remains unchanged from previous years.

Key updates included:

·         Updated pay figures for 2025/26 (Section 3.6).

·         Updated information on Chief Executive remuneration (Section 4).

·         Updated trade union facility time data.

·         Appendix 1G set out details of senior officer salaries, with final figures to be updated at the end of March prior to publication.

·         The report also included the gender and ethnicity pay gap information (Appendix 1H), which the Council is legally required to publish on both the Council and Government websites.

The Chair invited comments from members. These included:

• A preference was expressed for the previous layout of the Pay Policy Statement, which presented information in remuneration bands rather than departmental groupings, as it was considered clearer and more accessible for the public.
• Clarification was sought regarding the Chief Executive and Director appraisal process, with a request to ensure transparency around Member involvement.
• All group leaders were invited to feed into the Chief Executive appraisal process, with the formal appraisal arrangements set out clearly in the report.
• Members emphasised the importance of the Pay Policy Statement in the context of recruitment and retention, particularly given challenges facing local government and uncertainty arising from potential local government reorganisation.
• Concern was raised about the gender pay gap, noting that both the mean and median gaps had increased since previous years and that the scale of the disparity was concerning.
• Questions were raised by residents regarding other employee benefits, with Members seeking confirmation as to whether these were fully reflected within the report or documented elsewhere.
• Reference was made to public perceptions of staff pay arising from consultation responses, with Members stressing the need for staff to be fairly remunerated for their professional skills.

In response, officers advised that:

• The gender pay gap largely reflected workforce composition, with a predominantly female workforce concentrated in lower and middle pay bands, while a higher proportion of senior roles were held by male staff.
• The reported bonus pay related solely to long service awards, as the Council did not operate a bonus scheme, and reporting was required by legislation.
• Officers noted that the methodology and timing prescribed by legislation for calculating the gender pay gap could be misleading and did not always reflect recruitment or pay practices accurately.
• The report outlined the main rewards and benefits available to staff, and officers confirmed that all payments and benefits were included for transparency purposes.
• Additional benefits, such as the Employee Assistance Programme, were part of standard employment arrangements and comparable to those offered by other local authorities.
• Officers confirmed that the Council’s overall employment offer was broadly in line with sector norms.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Wise and seconded by Councillor Baldock.

Resolved:

(1)  That the proposed Pay Policy Statement be agreed for publication on the council’s web site.

(2)  That the information within the Pay Policy Statement is updated with actual year-end figures before final publication.