Updates from your negotiating teams: Midlands, south and Wales

Chris Manning, negotiations executive

Personal casework has kept me occupied, with cases ranging from helping members to secure reasonable adjustments when returning to work after sickness absence to supporting members who have been accused of gross misconduct.

I held a members’ surgery and recruitment session at the EAS/SE Wales Consortium. This was also open to staff from the nearby Central South Consortium. Members and non-members had the opportunity to come along and learn more about how Prospect membership can benefit them.

I did the same thing in Carmarthenshire, where we picked up a new local rep who has been actively trying to recruit new members. From the work in Carmarthenshire we have identified the need for more Welsh language materials and Prospect Central Services are in the process of producing this.

A consultation is just about to begin over the TUPE transfer of the school improvement function from Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Pembrokeshire, Powys and Ceredigion into a central team at ERW (Ein Rhanbarth ar Waith/Education through Regional Working). We have Prospect members in all six of the county authorities, each with slightly different local terms and conditions. The challenge will be trying to ensure that no member suffers a detriment as a result of the transfer.

Other ongoing restructures with which I have been involved include:

Dorset local government review

Nine councils (county, unitary and district) are being consolidated into two. The proposal is to replace the existing nine authorities with two unitary councils for all of Dorset:

• Urban Dorset (pop. 410,300) – the conurbation of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch
• Rural Dorset (pop. 376,600) – the remainder of Dorset, currently served by Dorset County, East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset and Weymouth & Portland Councils.

Buckinghamshire Learning Trust

The Governor Services Review and Restructure means that three staff will TUPE into Bucks County Council and 41 are at risk of redundancy.

A new service for early help: the new service will be created by bringing together the services commissioned and delivered by the council that currently provide early help support across the county.

Bristol City Council

The current staffing structure is not deemed sustainable or cost effective, so the council are proposing to axe the 5.2 full-time equivalent (fte) generic teaching and learning consultant posts. These posts are covered by six staff, four of whom are Prospect members.

In their place they will create 2.6 fte posts with specific service responsibilities:

• 1.6 fte teaching and learning consultant: ECAR (every child a reader)
• 1 fte teaching and learning consultant: school improvement

This means that three of the six staff will face redeployment or redundancy.

Gloucestershire County Council

Prospect has been invited to comment on “A New Approach to High Needs in Gloucestershire”, which is a briefing and engagement paper for parents, schools and other stakeholders. It was sent with an engagement survey to members for their comments.

If you are affected by restructures or other issues in your workplace, or if you feel that you need individual support for any work-related issue, please contact the ECS group office in Wakefield on [email protected]