Supplementary memorandum by the Office
of the Deputy Prime Minister (FRS 31(a))
With relation to our written evidence for the
Fire and Rescue Service inquiry, I would like to clarify a paragraph
which is not entirely clear in its current form.
Under the heading Institutional arrangements,
paragraph 24, a bullet point on the National Joint Council (NJC)
may be misleading in the current context. The NJC is an entirely
independent body, being made up of representatives for the Local
Government Association (LGA), Convention of Scottish Local Authorities,
Fire Authority for Northern Ireland and the FBU. I hope that the
following paragraph clarifies the matter for the Committee:
"Under the 2004 Act, Government has taken
reserve powers to set up new negotiating machinery for the service
although it has consistently made clear that its preference is
for voluntary reform. The 2003 pay and conditions agreement between
national employers and the FBU provided for a review of the service's
main negotiating body, the National Joint Council. Whilst we have
seen limited improvements in terms of a reduction in the number
of seats on the employers' side of the NJC, Government still wishes
to see other reforms including a separation of the machinery for
middle managers and the inclusion of smaller unions within national
negotiating arrangements."
Alun Evans
Director
Fire & Resilience
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