Issue - meetings

To consider the recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 7^th January 2026.

Particulate Monitoring

The Chairman informed Council that the report in respect of Particulate Monitoring had been deferred and a further report would be presented to Cabinet with costings to be considered as part of the Budget Setting process.

Pay Policy Statement 2026/27

The Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Partnerships, Economic Development and Enabling presented the Pay Policy for Members’ consideration.

In doing so it was noted that the Localism Act required English and Welsh local authorities to produce a Pay Policy statement. The Act required the statement to be approved by Full Council and adopted by 31^st March each year for the subsequent financial year.  Members were informed that the Pay Policy Statement for the Council was included at Appendix 1 to the report.

The purpose of the statement was to provide transparency with regard to the Council’s approach to setting the pay of its employees by identifying the following:

a)              the methods by which salaries of all employees were determined

b)    the detail and level of remuneration of its most senior staff i.e. ‘chief officers’, as defined by the relevant legislation

c)    the Committee(s) responsible for ensuring the provisions set out in this statement were applied consistently throughout the Council and for recommending any amendments to the full Council.

The Council’s pay and grading structure comprised of grades 1 – 11. These were followed by grades for Managers, Assistant Director 1, Assistant Director 2, Director WRS, Executive Director, Director of Finance S151 and then Chief Executive; all of which arose following the introduction of shared services with Redditch District Council.

Within each grade there were a number of salary/pay points. Up to and including grade 11 scale, at spinal column point 43, the Council used the nationally negotiated pay spine. Salary points above this were locally determined.

All Council posts were allocated to a grade within this pay structure, based on the application of a Job Evaluation process. Posts at Managers and above were evaluated by an external assessor using the Hay Job Evaluation scheme.

In common with the majority of authorities the Council was committed to the Local Government Employers national pay bargaining framework in respect of the national pay spine and annual cost of living increases negotiated with the trade unions. All other pay related allowances are the subject of either nationally or locally negotiated rates.

Bromsgrove District Council was managed by a Senior Leadership Team who managed shared services across both Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough Councils.  All of the posts listed had been job evaluated on this basis, with the salary costs for these posts split between both Councils.

The policy also set out the following:

·       The recruitment of Chief Officers

·       Additions to the salaries of Chief Officers (there is no Performance related pay)

·       Termination payments

·       Advertisement/publicity of posts

The Council’s definition of lowest paid employees was persons employed under a contract of employment with the Council on full time (37 hours) equivalent salaries in accordance with the minimum spinal column point currently  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89