WIREDGOV

Local Government Minister Rosie Winterton today announced further new measures to help ensure value for money on council salaries and services.

Ms Winterton pledged to introduce new legislative rules before the end of the year that will require councils to publish the pay and perks of their highest earning 2,500 posts - as part of action to show the taxpayer that all Government is acting fairly and responsibly in an era of constrained public expenditure.

The decision to move ahead with the new rules follows 'broad approval' for the proposals, including from organisations representing council chief executives. In the consultation findings published today, respondents also agreed the changes would capture the 'right' senior posts including chief executives, consultants and directors.

The proposals will create a new legal requirement for up to 475 local authority bodies to include detailed senior pay information covering salary, bonuses, pensions, perks and compensation pay offs in their next annual statement of accounts.

Ms Winterton today also committed a further £31.7m to help councils and local service delivery partners find new ways to achieve efficiency savings, improve services, shape markets, and encourage greater innovation.

The funding will be distributed through the nine council-led Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPS). RIEPS drive efforts to use procurement and innovation savings to improve local services or keep council tax down.

In their first year, RIEPS helped councils to save more than £100m by supporting council bosses to work together to identify opportunities for making efficiency savings through better practices like joint bidding or contracts.

Speaking at the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives' (SOLACE) annual conference, Ms Winterton said:

"In the current climate, the public rightly expect greater value for money from local services. We are setting some pretty clear mood music about making sure every taxpayer's pound is worked as hard as possible.

"Councils must be able to show they are providing a fair deal on pay in an open and transparent way - the public have the right to see the full picture.

"These new disclosure standards will simply bring councils up to the same high standards that are already required of civil servants, members of government and private sector organisations.

"The £31m of efficiency and transformation funding will help councils to identify and use innovative ways to maintain quality local services in a challenging fiscal climate, and to fully harness the power of public spending to benefit local communities."

The Government is also introducing other value for money changes to help transform local services including: the Total Place initiative that will identify radical changes to allow better services to be delivered at lower costs; the social care promise; changes to the managerial culture with fewer targets, better procurement and more innovation; and more openness with public information that will lead to more effective scrutiny.

Notes to editors

1. The RIEP network is already supporting a range of initiatives that help councils save money by sharing frontline and back office services.

• In the East £1.2m savings have been achieved so far through a procurement shared service and;
• In the South East the RIEP is working on a shared IT facility in Buckinghamshire and shared Human Resources facilities in Hampshire.

2. RIEPS also provide support for councils on a range of priority issues.

• In Yorkshire and Humber the region's four police forces, supported by the RIEP, have joined together to produce a DVD on tackling crime and disorder for use at training sessions and regional events.

Local government reported in July that it had saved more than £1.7bn of taxpayers' money as part of the Government's drive to make local authorities more efficient. This is equivalent to £98 for every Band D council taxpayer. The ETF will support projects which will unlock further savings, taking local government closer to hitting its target of £5.5bn savings by 2011.

3. The new regulation would amend the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 (Si 2003/533) ('the principle regulations'). Regulation 7 amendment would constitute a statement of accounts to include reference to remuneration reporting for senior officers. The amendment is intended to ensure comparable remuneration disclosure for all senior staff within organisations that will fulfil the same degree openness and transparency as the civil service and listed companies in the private sector (under the Companies Act 2006). The principle regulations apply in relation to England only.

4. i. The consultation proposes through amendments to regulations make it a requirement for 'remuneration disclosure' to include:

(a) salary;
(b) bonuses;
(c) additional payments;
(d) compensation or ex gratia payments;
(e) benefits in kind and
(f) pensions;

ii. A definition of 'senior' that includes the head of the authority's paid service; 1st tier officers who report to the head of paid service eg Director, Chief Officer or Strategic Director.

5. The local authority bodies covered would include London borough councils, county and district councils in England; joint authorities; the Greater London Authority; National Park authorities; Waste authorities; TfL; Police and Fire Authorities.

6. The consultation proposes to bring pay disclosure in line with the recommendations of the Information Commissioner's Office: www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/practical_application/salaries_v1.pdf

7. Full details of consultation can be found at: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/seniorofficerspayconsultation

Twitter

Keep up to date with the Department by following us on Twitter (external link).

Media enquiries

Visit our newsroom contacts page for media enquiry contact details.