- Conference
- 2009 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 18 February 2009
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that local government employees are uniquely and increasingly ‘squeezed’ between the priorities of central and local government, the complex funding mechanism for local government and efficiency savings.
Conference believes that the public is entitled to the highest quality services and efficient use of public money. However, there is a limit to the ‘efficiencies’ or council tax savings which can continue to be delivered through reductions in our members’ standard of living and their goodwill.
Conference believes that our members are penalised by the premium placed by Government, the Local Government Association (LGA), the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) and many councils on cutting or keeping council tax low, irrespective of the impact on council services and the ability to properly reward and train employees. Conference notes the Conservative policy green paper “Control Shift” proposes to end Whitehall powers and give local residents the power to veto high council tax rises via local referendum.
Conference believes our members have become the efficiency saving in local government – a cost item to be constantly trimmed, not a precious asset to be invested in, while councils keep huge sums of money in reserves.
The Audit Commission, in its 2008 publication ‘Tomorrow’s People: Building a Local Government Workforce for the Future’, points out that “a competent and committed local government workforce is a critical element in service improvement, efficiency and transformation”. Many authorities continue to ignore the link between the workforce and improving service delivery. However, the Audit Commission also notes that local authorities rarely plan or manage their workforce recruitment, development and retention strategically’.
Conference notes that the 2008 LGE’s Local Government Workforce Survey in England shows that 13% of authorities have not identified their critical workforce issues and put a programme of action into place for any of their in-house services and that 16% of authorities have no integrated workforce planning into service planning for any in-house services”. In Wales there is no specific workforce planning development or monitoring of the Local Government workforce. This lack of workforce planning is symptomatic of the lack of importance placed on the Local Government workforce across the UK.
The local government workforce faces continuing pressure as a result of the Government’s objective that councils realise “annual net cash releasing savings of £4.9 billion by 2010/11″. In Wales, Councils will need to deliver 1% efficiency savings each year. The ‘efficiencies’ agenda is a key driver in proposals to outsource or privatise local government services, particularly adult social care and back office functions where the ‘efficiencies’ are derived from fewer staff and poorer terms and conditions.
In 2007/8 cashable efficiency savings in English councils alone were £763 million. The cumulative savings over the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR)04 period amount to £5.78bn. It is not clear where the savings were invested, but what is certain is that they were not used to deliver fair pay, improved conditions or training for the workforce.
While our members find their pay and conditions lagging further and further behind their equivalents in the NHS, Police, Probation and Further and Higher Education, councils have been banking record reserves and squeezing pay and conditions to keep council tax down.
Conference calls on the Local Government Service Group Executive to:
1)Lobby the Government, Welsh Assembly, Scottish Government and all UK local government bodies on the need to maintain funding for local services and employees to deliver them at this crucial time
2)Challenge the Government and councils’ policy of keeping council tax low while cutting jobs, services and investment in decent pay and conditions
3)Call for a proportion of ‘efficiency savings’ to be invested in improved pay and conditions for the workforce
4)Work with the LGE to promote Part 4.8 of the Green Book to encourage greater workforce planning and investment in training and development of staff