Care of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

This Conference notes )the recent publication of ‘Better Outcomes: the way forward – improving the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children’ by the Borders and Immigration Agency (BIA) which sets out the framework for providing services to unaccompanied asylum seeking children; 2)That unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people arrive in this country separated from their family and […]

Local Area Agreement and the Race Equality Duty

Conference notes the significance attached to Local Area Agreements (LAAs), new ‘partnership’ structures, and the significant role that they are playing in the delivery of public services by bringing together public, private, private and voluntary sectors. Conference believes that this has an impact on Local Government UNISON members working in these sectors. Conference is concerned […]

Campaigning for a fair deal for LGPS members

Conference notes that Statutory Instrument 2007, number 1166, issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) which outlined the ‘new look’ LGPS, stated that “Administering and employing authorities shall have regard to guidance to be issued by the Secretary of State, before 31 March 2009, as to the manner in which the costs […]

Local Government/Health Interface

Conference notes continuing moves toward towards increasing integration between health and social care in government policy in England Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland health and social care are integrated but are undergoing the upheaval of the ‘super-Trust’ restructuring. The implications of integration are widespread and include the threat of a combined push towards the […]

The ‘Public Sector Worker’

Conference notes that the Local Government Employers have introduced the idea of the ‘Public Sector Worker’ in recent discussion documents. They have suggested that there should be core pay and conditions, providing for equity and protection for employees moving between sectors and in to shared service arrangements. The idea is also being discussed with the […]

Housing

Conference welcomes the Government’s commitment to: 1)Two million new homes by 2016 and three million by 2020; 2)The review of the housing revenue account ‘to ensure that we have a sustainable, long term system for financing council housing’; 3)Recently published figures from Communities and Local Government suggest that over the next 15 years HRA surpluses […]

Organising apprentices

This Conference notes the Prime Minister’s announcement on 28 January 2008 that he wants to see one in five young people on apprenticeships within 10 years, in a push to win the global “skills race”. He also announced that as a first step the number of places on offer for 16 to 18-year-olds would be […]

Women in Local Government

Public sector workers are increasingly more likely to be women and to work part-time than private sector workers. In 2004, 65 per cent of public sector workers were women, compared with 41 per cent of private sector workers. Around 30 per cent of public sector workers worked part-time compared with 24 per cent of private […]

Local Government Efficiency Reviews and Disabled People

Disabled members are reporting a detrimental impact on their working conditions as a result of action arising from efficiency reviews; there is little evidence of employers meeting their legal responsibilities to undertake Disability Equality Impact Assessments when shared services or outsourcing are being contemplated. Branches should be aware of the wealth of arguments within the […]

Casualisation of the Local Government Workforce

This Conference is concerned about the impact on the terms and conditions of members working in social care outside of direct local authority provision. We are also concerned that the rapid growth of agency, self employed, and community and voluntary sector provision will lead to worsening standards of employment. Disabled members report that: 1)Directly employed […]

Structural and Organisastion Change – The Local Government workforce

The local authority workforce faces an uncertain and difficult future in the face of continued pressure for “efficiency savings”, ongoing restructuring of local authorities, outsourcing, “shared services”, the impact of local area agreements of Councils’ financing and service provision, as well as radical changes in education and social care. UNISON’s briefing activity around “Making Local […]

Social Work Practices and Local Authority Services for ‘Looked After Children’

This Conference notes: 1)The passage of the Children and Young Person’s Bill through Parliament with it’s proposal for the piloting of independent ‘Social Work Practices’ to care for ‘Looked after Children’. That ‘Looked after Children’ are a very vulnerable group of young people who are cared for by the state either due to them being […]

Maximising the Impact of Workforce Development Plans on Local Bargaining

The Green Book advises all local councils to draw up Workforce Development Plans – Pt 2 (3) – and gives extensive practical guidance as to how these should be drawn up (4.8), including the role of the trade unions in developing and implementing these plans. Workforce Development Planning is now a key issue for local […]

Adult Social Services

Adult social services face a period of enormous change. The tight financial regime in which councils are operating is subjecting adult social services to major budget reductions in many authorities and the Government proposals to promote personal care budgets and self assessment means services are under threat. Members working in adult care could face redundancy […]

Social Care Services

Conference notes the continuing and increasing use of the independent, community, voluntary and private sectors to provide social care services and recognises that this threatens local government member’ jobs and terms and conditions in the following ways: 1)privatisation and externalisation of services leading to transfer of staff or redundancy; 2)competition from the independent and private […]