Issue - meetings

(Reasons: LGA 1972 - Sch 12A Paragraph 1 – Information relating to an individual)

Recommendation GP 23/25 of the General Purposes Committee of 3 July 2023

Consideration was given to the recommendations of the General Purposes Committee held on 3 July 2023.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)             a £5,000 annual market supplement payment (pro-rata’d for part-time staff) be paid to all current and future recruited qualified* planning staff for a period of two years, subject to annual review thereafter;

*To qualify, the postholder must hold a degree of postgraduate qualification accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute as stipulated in the Person Specification of their post in Planning.

(2)             a £3,000 ‘Golden Hello’ payment be paid to newly recruited planning staff joining the Borough Council in posts in planning of which the Person Specification stipulates that the postholder must hold a degree of postgraduate qualification accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute, subject to review; and

(3)             the aggregated cost of the market supplement payments and the ‘Golden Hello’ payments, estimated to be circa £320k over the two-year review period, be met from the Budget Stabilisation Reserve.

This report seeks Members’ recommendation on a number of options to address the recruitment and retention issues within the Planning Services.

(Reasons: LGA 1972 - Sch 12A Paragraph 1 – Information relating to an individual)

Careful consideration was given to a number of options proposed to address the recruitment and retention issues in the Planning Service within the context of the national picture of staffing situation in council planning departments.

Members had due regard to the recruitment campaigns undertaken in the past year, the interim staffing costs, the benchmark data on salary packages from Kent district councils, the risk assessment and the legal, financial and value for money considerations arising from the proposals, with particular reference made to maintaining competitiveness of the Borough Council in the recruitment market for the qualified Planner posts.

RECOMMENDED*:  That

(1)        a £5,000 annual market supplement payment (pro-rata’d for part-time staff) be paid to all current and future recruited qualified** Planning staff for a period of two years, subject to annual review thereafter;

            **To qualify, the postholder must hold a degree or postgraduate qualification accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute as stipulated in the Person Specification of their post in Planning.

(2)        a £3,000 ‘Golden Hello’ payment be paid to newly recruited Planning staff joining the Borough Council in posts in Planning of which the Person Specification stipulates that the postholder must hold a degree or postgraduate qualification accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute, subject to review; and

(3)        the aggregated cost of the market supplement payments and the ‘Golden Hello’ payments, estimated to be circa £320k over the two-year review period, be met from the Budget Stabilisation Reserve.

*Referred to Council