Proposed by Councillor Simon Holbrook

Seconded by Councillor Lesley Rennie

(1)  Council welcomes the bold and innovative approach taken by the Conservative – Liberal Democrat joint administration in engaging widely with the public in the future shape and financing of Council services through the ‘Wirral’s Future – be a part of it’ consultation.

(2)  Council thanks those members of the public, council staff and other stakeholders who have engaged in the consultation process and contributed their thoughts and ideas so far; and urges all those yet to make a response to make their contribution in the last few days before the consultation closes on 31st October.

(3)  Council thanks those officers of the Council who have worked tirelessly and enthusiastically to deliver the biggest ever consultation exercise carried out by the Council in such an efficient and cost effective manner.

(4)  Council further thanks those members of the independent task forces for bringing their knowledge and expertise to support the Council on the key challenges it has to face.

(5)  Council recognises that difficult decisions will need to be made to meet the financial challenges which are being faced by all local authorities.

(6)  Council notes that the final Budget decisions will rest with Full Council following reports to Cabinet on the consultation results by the independent task forces and that those reports and the evidence considered will all be publicly available.

(7)  Council is proud to be associated with this extension of democracy through its engagement with the public on these important questions.

Amendment submitted in accordance with Standing Order 7(2):

Proposed by: Cllr. Steve Foulkes

Seconded by: Cllr. Phil Davies

Delete all after “Council” and insert:

“notes that 6,032 members of staff have been invited by this administration not to be a part of Wirral’s Future and that letters have been sent to them asking them asking them to consider either Early Voluntary Retirement if they are over 55 or Voluntary Severance if they are younger.

Council further notes the absence of any Cabinet report which, under normal procedure, would have set out the context of the decision to send these letters, explained how the cost of  any subsequent EVRs or Voluntary Severance payments would be met, explained how the gaps in service created by the staff choosing to leave would be dealt with, looked at the procedure and risks associated with any refusal to let staff go who might subsequently be offered EVRs or Severance at a lower rate, and only in the light of the above information asked Cabinet to take a responsible decision on whether or not to make an offer of EVR or Voluntary Severance to staff.

Council also notes the apparent absence of any recorded formal decision to circulate the letters, even under delegated authority.

Council notes that the result of bypassing normal procedures and governing instead by press release was a high degree of chaos, uncertainty, and distress for staff, who were unclear at first whether they were to be made compulsorily redundant or offered voluntary retirement or severance and who, in many cases, received the wrong salary figures, leading to an apology to staff on the internal web site for the mistakes that had been made.

This distress was compounded by the fact the letters were deliberately sent on a Friday to the home address of individual staff in order to make sure the letters were received in the isolation of their own homes where they would be without the benefit of advice or the benefit of support from fellow colleagues.  It was also made worse by the fact that this letter made it clear there was a very tight deadline for returning any applications for EVR and Severance, that individuals would have to leave by the end of December with possible reduced notice terms, and that the offer would be taken off the table after that deadline and a less generous offer substituted.

This was further compounded by the fact that a letter to staff from the Leader of the Council the day before contained the following implicit threat: “You should also be aware that whilst I remain committed to doing all I can to avoid compulsory redundancies in the future, my ability to do this will depend on whether we can make enough savings now”.

Council deeply regrets the way in which its staff have been treated and re-asserts the fact that it values its staff and their commitment to the work they do for the people of Wirral and wants to reassure them that they will be given every opportunity to make decisions that are right for them and their families, and that those decisions will not be made under any form of duress, or within a timescale that clearly indicates a three month deadline for the issuing of compulsory redundancies leading up to April 1st.

Council further recognises that under a Labour and Labour/Liberal Democrat Administration it has avoided any compulsory redundancies through careful management of the budget and believes that this administration’s failure to take prompt action in dealing with the budget deficit will mean the threat of compulsory redundancies is much more likely.”

The amendment was put and lost (23:38) (1 abstention)

The motion was put and carried (38:23:1)

Resolved (38:23:1) –

(1)  Council welcomes the bold and innovative approach taken by the Conservative – Liberal Democrat joint administration in engaging widely with the public in the future shape and financing of Council services through the ‘Wirral’s Future – be a part of it’ consultation.

(2)  Council thanks those members of the public, council staff and other stakeholders who have engaged in the consultation process and contributed their thoughts and ideas so far; and urges all those yet to make a response to make their contribution in the last few days before the consultation closes on 31st October.

(3)  Council thanks those officers of the Council who have worked tirelessly and enthusiastically to deliver the biggest ever consultation exercise carried out by the Council in such an efficient and cost effective manner.

(4)  Council further thanks those members of the independent task forces for bringing their knowledge and expertise to support the Council on the key challenges it has to face.

(5)  Council recognises that difficult decisions will need to be made to meet the financial challenges which are being faced by all local authorities.

(6)  Council notes that the final Budget decisions will rest with Full Council following reports to Cabinet on the consultation results by the independent task forces and that those reports and the evidence considered will all be publicly available.

(7)  Council is proud to be associated with this extension of democracy through its engagement with the public on these important questions.