Agenda and draft minutes

An apology for absence was received from Joanne Johnson, Head of Place, Swale Borough Council

To approve the record of the meeting held on 12 March 2026.

The record of the meeting held on 12 March 2026 was agreed and signed by the Chairperson as correct.

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct. Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 3.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

The Chairperson will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which he/she has agreed should be considered by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the report.  

There were none.

This report summarises the content of agenda item 6 which, in the opinion of the proper officer, contains exempt information within one of the categories in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. It is a matter for the Committee to determine whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of document. 

The Committee agreed that the press and public be excluded consideration of the following reports because consideration of this matter in public would disclose information falling within one or more of the descriptions of exempt information contained in Schedule 12A paragraph 3 - Information relating to financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information), to the Local Government Act 1972, and, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption, outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

This report sets out the immediate and longer-term options available to address recruitment and retention challenges within the Building Control Surveyor (BCS) workforce at South Thames Gateway Building Control Partnership (STG). It also provides clarity on the implications of adjusting the current Skills Shortage Allowance (SSA) and outlines considerations regarding pension participation and take-home pay.

Discussion:

The Director, South Thames Gateway Building Control Partnership introduced the report. She highlighted the difficulties that the Partnership faced in recruiting and retaining staff, whilst regulatory changes had significantly increased the burden of supervision on staff.

The Partnership had lost a number of staff in the last year including management, and as reported previously, staff turnover stood at 37.5%. One month into the financial year a further surveyor had left and another would leave the Partnership shortly. The Director explained that a recruitment campaign for a manager post had been unsuccessful. The principal causes of the recruitment and retention issues were due to current workload and significantly higher salary available in the private sector.

The last remaining manager in the partnership had indicated that they will relocate to another part of the country. At this stage, the Partnership was expected to not have any management staff in post and temporary consultants would be required to undertake the statutory requirements of the Partnership.

The Director acknowledged that the staffing budget was based upon the Business Plan, however, the core issue in recruitment and retention of competition from the private sector had become urgent, with the private sector being able to offer salaries at a significantly higher level than in the public sector. The Joint Committee was asked to support the payment of a skills shortage allowance within the Medway Council pay structure using Partnership reserves.

The Committee discussed the following issues.

Skills Shortage Allowance – the Committee welcomed the report, further information was requested why the Skills Shortage Allowance was limited to Medway Council pay structure. The Democratic Services Officer stated that the Memorandum of Agreement provided that Medway Council acted as the host Council for the purposes of employing staff. As a consequence, Partnership staff were employed under Medway terms and conditions.

The Committee agreed the payment of a skills shortage allowance. It was agreed that this allowance would be backdated to the beginning of the financial year if possible. The Partnership Director undertook to take this forward with Medway Council HR Services.

Review of Pay Structure – the Joint Committee also welcomed the proposed review of the pay structure for the Partnership, it was asked whether the review could be completed by the next ordinary meeting of the Joint Committee in June 2026. The Director stated that she was working closely colleagues in HR and undertook to present the report to the Committee in June. It was requested that the report include an outline of the statutory services that the Partnership was required to complete.

Supervision – in response to a question how the supervision requirements would be undertaken following the resignation of managers and the unsuccessful recruitment campaign, the Partnership Director stated that the Partnership could choose to not undertake some property services work, however, this was a significant income generator. All other work was statutory based, so consultants would need to be contracted in the short term.

Local Government Re-organisation (LGR) – the Joint Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 925.