Agenda item

Report of: The Head of Paid Service

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The Assembly is recommended to:

(a)   Approve (noting that it is a joint decision with Mayor) the Head of Paid Service’s proposal to not award any pay increase to three statutory officers, namely the Head of Paid Service, Chief Finance Officer and Monitoring Officer (the Chief Executive, Executive Director of Resources and Executive Director of Communities and Intelligence respectively); and

(b)  Note that, as set out at paragraph 3.4 of the report, Members’ salaries for the 2010/11 year will automatically remain at the existing levels, and note also that, if at any point, the Local Government Employers Organisation advises that the local government staff national pay 2010 settlement is re-opened and if it resulted in a conclusion other than for no change, the Mayor and Assembly would be asked to commission the SSRB to undertake a further review of Members’ salaries.

7.1  The Assembly received the report of the Head of Paid Service.

7.2   It was noted that the decision of the Mayor and Assembly in November 2009 on the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) had been that elected Members’ remuneration should reflect the local government staff national pay settlement and that, if the GLA should depart from the national local government settlement for its own staff, the SSRB would undertake a further review of the up-rating mechanism for elected Members.

7.3   Roger Evans AM proposed that recommendation 2.2 of the report be amended to the effect that the decision of the Assembly taken in November 2009 in relation to the body which would undertake the review of elected Members’ remuneration be rescinded and that, if at any point the Local Government Employers Organisation advised that the local government staff national pay 2010 settlement had been re-opened and if it resulted in a conclusion other than no change, or if the GLA should depart from the national local government settlement for its own staff in future years,  the Assembly would be asked to consider and agree the appropriate body to undertake a further review of Members’ salaries.

7.4   The Chair, noting that this matter would require a joint decision with the Mayor, suggested that Authority be delegated to the Chair to commission, jointly with the Mayor, the appropriate body to undertake a further review of Members’ salaries, should this situation arise.

7.5   The Assembly agreed the amendment proposed by Roger Evans AM, and agreed the recommendations, as amended, by general consensus. 

7.6  Resolved:

(a)  That the Head of Paid Service’s proposal to not award any pay increase to three statutory officers, namely the Head of Paid Service, Chief Finance Officer and Monitoring Officer (the Chief Executive, Executive Director of Resources and Executive Director of Communities and Intelligence respectively) be approved, noting that this is a joint decision with Mayor;

(b)  That, as set out at paragraph 3.4 of the report, it be noted that elected Members’ salaries for the 2010/11 year automatically remain at the existing levels; and

(c) That, subject to the agreement of the Mayor, the decision of the Assembly taken at its meeting of 11 November 2009 in relation to the body which would undertake the review of elected Members’ remuneration be rescinded and that, if at any point, the Local Government Employers Organisation advises that the local government staff national pay 2010 settlement is re-opened and if it resulted in a conclusion other than no change, or if the GLA should depart from the national local government settlement for its own staff in future years, authority be delegated to the Chair, in consultation with Group Leaders, to commission, jointly with the Mayor, the appropriate body to undertake a further review of Members’ salaries.