Issue - meetings

Report of the Executive Director of Resources

The Cabinet considered a report of the Executive Director of Resources, which set out proposals for a further round of early retirement / voluntary redundancy (ER/VR).

Since 2010 the Council had undertaken significant savings exercises across the organisation in response to on-going reductions in Government funding. Savings were initially mainly focused on back office and support services, through reducing senior management posts, merging directorates and by identifying more efficient ways of delivering services. More recently, as back office efficiencies became harder to find, front line services were being affected.

The forthcoming Spending Review announcement was likely to signal further significant resource cuts for local government and by 2017/18 Coventry was likely to face having its government funding cut by well in excess of £100m or over 55% since 2010.  Further, significant savings would be needed across services. This meant that the Council would be a smaller organisation in the future. By introducing more efficient and flexible ways of working the Council aimed to deliver better value for residents with less bureaucracy – and fewer employees.

The Council’s human resources and financial strategies put into place in 2014/15 were based on the need to plan on the basis of losing a further 1,000 posts over the medium term.  The prospects in the coming Spending Review would suggest a significantly larger figure would be required. It was proposed that the next opportunity for staff to express an interest in Early Retirement/Voluntary Redundancy (ER/VR), be commenced and the necessary financial arrangements put in place. 

Since 2010 the Council had undertaken four rounds of ER/VR which had resulted in the region of 800 approvals, this ensured that the number of compulsory redundancies was kept to a minimum.  It was anticipated that Corporate ER /VR programmes would continue to be a regular feature of the Councils workforce Strategy whether they were general programmes or programmes targeted at specific work groups. In order to be able to respond effectively and as necessary to the changing budgetary pressures flexibility was needed to introduce programmes in a timely fashion.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1.  Approve the launch, consultation and implementation of a fifth ER/VR programme with consultation from 2nd December until 16th January 2016 and a closing date for ER /VR applications of 23rd January 2016.

2.  Delegate authority to the Executive Director Resources (following consultation with Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources) to develop and instigate further (general or specifically targeted) Early Retirement / Voluntary Redundancy programmes as appropriate on an on-going basis. 

3.  Approve the launch, consultation and implementation of such programmes in the future.

4.  Recommend to full Council that it approves the virement of additional resources of £7.4m as identified in section 5 to add to existing budgets of £10.1m to fund redundancy and early retirement costs.