Agenda and minutes

As the only report on the agenda was to be discussed in private the meeting was not audio recorded.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mike Biggin.

Members are reminded that the Members’ Code of Conduct requires the disclosure of Statutory Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Non-Statutory Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Disclosable Non-Pecuniary Interests.

There were no declarations of Members’ interest.

To approve the minutes of the Staffing Committee held on 23^rd October 2019.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Staffing Committee held on 23^rd October 2019 be confirmed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That under Section 100(A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Order 2006, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the items of business listed below on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Schedule 12 A to the Act in the paragraphs indicated:

Item 3:

Pension Abatement and the Training of On Call Firefighters

Paragraph

(1)          Information relating to an individual;

(3)       Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

At the meeting of the Staffing Committee on 18^th September 2019, Members considered a report which contained details of an issue that had arisen concerning pension abatement that had the potential to impact upon the recruitment and training of on-call firefighters. 

Normally, a retired firefighter that was re-employed would see their pension abated in whole or in part so that the pay in the new role plus the pension did not exceed the pay prior to retirement.  In exceptional circumstances Staffing Committee was able to decide that abatement should not occur.  If it did so the Authority was obliged to pay into the pension fund an amount equal to the sum that would have been abated.

Members had agreed in September that the circumstances were exceptional and that pension abatement should not take place.  Officers had confirmed that they were reviewing the situation with a view to avoiding pension abatement issues in the future and Members had asked for a further report in January 2020.

Following the Staffing Committee decision on the 18^th September, the On-Call Programme Team carried out a review into the way in which On-Call Module 1 courses were being delivered.  The review led to the team establishing a range of delivery options which would provide resilience and ensure that the necessary training would be properly resourced.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the contents of the report be noted.