ssr0311

Secretary For Scotland's Report for Guild Council Meeting 20.11.2003

ASTCP Meeting 17.10.03
Scottish NHS Committee Meeting 5.11.03
Agenda For Change JAQ Completion Study Day 28.10.03
Agenda For Change Study Day 30.10.03
Agenda For Change Evaluations Exercise

ASTCP Meeting 17.10.03
As I was on holiday, I was unable to attend this meeting which was addressed by the President and Vice-president.

Scottish NHS Committee Meeting 5.11.03
The SPRIG meeting of October 8 reached the following conclusions:

The resource implications of A4C will be emphasised to the NHS Chief Executive and a report will be prepared for the Service.

The areas in Scotland that seem to be dragging their heels - in establishing a Project Plan\Board\Team, etc. - were identified as Greater Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Tayside.

Reports from the 4 pilot schemes - West Lothian, Highland, Golden Jubilee and the CSA - were submitted and copies have been distributed to our reps on those sites.

Ian Reid, Chief Executive of Greater Glasgow Primary Care, has been appointed as the (part-time) Pay Modernisation Director for Agenda for Change. David Renshaw, former DHR in Argyll & Clyde, will be working full-time as support to the Director.

A further HDL circular on Agenda for Change is being drafted and should be issued to the Service within 2 to 3 weeks.

Nominations are being sought for (pilot) training events in November - details will be circulated to all SEG only, when available. There will also be an event for those wishing to become accredited trainers.

The decision on the 37.5 hour week and protection has been deferred until the November 12 meeting.

The meeting began with a question and answer session on Agenda For Change. Janis Millar was present and discussed the logistics and technicalities of the process. Much of the information which would facilitate setting up training plans will come from the EIs, but is only just starting to come through. The average number of matches for panels appears to be between 3 and 6 per day. Lack of staff side members for matching panels was a common problem and one HR department in Scotland had intimated that, if no staff side members came forward, they would recruit staff instead. This was completely unacceptable to both management and staff side of SPRIG and the process itself and would not be allowed. It was noted that up to date job descriptions are vital for the matching process and there was discussion on the benefits and detriments of having members of the same profession on the panel for matching.

Low pay agreement: it was noted that the problem over trainee MTOs not being covered by the low pay agreement had still not been resolved. It was made clear that the agreement covered ALL staff being paid under the specified salary. Last Friday had seen the first meeting of a group set up be SEHD to review the low pay agreement and see what advice needed to be issued to the service. This problem would be fed into the process to ensure resolution.

Partnership Support Unit (PSU): Sharon Duncan, erstwhile Secretary to the committee, told the committee about the remit and function of the PSU. They were there to provide facilitation and support on partnership. They would be disseminating best practice, fostering links between partnership, staff governance and performance management in the NHS, commissioning research and generally trying to boost the credibility of partnership working throughout the service.

Scottish Executive Group (SEG): A subgroup consisting of Ray Stewart, Donald Sime, Helen MacFarlane and Michael Fuller was drafting proposals on future union committee meetings in Scotland in view of the imminent implementation of the new rule book. It is likely to suggest carrying on as normal, but linking with AEEU groups as soon as possible. It was agreed to extend the period of office of the office bearers for 6 months, pending more information of the future of the group. Part of the difficulty involved the lack of allocation of members to branches. It was noted that the Scottish Conference takes place later this month.

Scottish Partnership Forum (SPF): Draft minutes of the last meeting were tabled. One of the main topics discussed was the amendment to the NHS Reform Bill to make Staff Governance a statutory obligation on NHS organisations. The Staff Governance Committee of the SPF has produced a draft paper for feedback. The formal consultation document will be produced between December and April. The clause will be about 4-5 lines in the Bill and it is important that Area Partnership Forums are supportive of the amendment.

Human Resources Forum (HRF): The next meeting on Monday will be discussing the part time worker regulations and their entitlement to public holidays. Unsurprisingly, there is a difference in opinion between staff side and management about its implementation. SEHD has issued guidelines on PFI/PPP schemes. Despite a mention of the STUC,the document was not agreed by the STUC and was not issued in partnership. Neither the SPF nor the HRF were consulted before issue.

Amicus: There is still no complete list of officer coverage or a timetable for the changes, although it should be complete within days. It has been agreed that MSF and AEEU officers will continue to look after their respective patches for the next 12 months. The learning curve for both sets of officers was considered to be too great for immediate integration. There will now be enough officers for 1 for each Health Board area. It was noted that Ian Fulton would retire on 19th December and agreed that the Committee should write to Ian with their best wishes for his retirement. Within Amicus-MSF,
Fiona Farmer would look after Highlands and islands, Grampian, Tayside and Fife
Hugh Scullion will cover Borders and the Common Services Agency
Gordon Casey will cover Lothian
Michael Fuller will cover Dumfries & Galloway, Ayrshire & Arran, Argyll & Clyde, Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire. He will lose responsibility for the universities in Glasgow.

Agenda For Change JAQ Completion Study Day 28.10.03

This meeting was set up over the summer with the assistance of Michael Fuller and the Glasgow Regional Office. It was held in the STUC offices and was addressed by Janis Millar and Sue Young, a member of JEWP. The presentations have been circulated to attendees and those unable to make it. The meeting was very useful in getting people to think about how to complete the Job Analysis Questionnaires (JAQs) and the workshops highlighted three of the sections. Each attendee was able to make a start on completing the sections and those I have been able to speak to found the day very useful indeed.

Agenda For Change Study Day 30.10.03

This meeting was addressed by Janis Millar, Michael Fuller and Colin Adkins. It was a lively meeting with many useful points made.

Agenda For Change Evaluations Exercise

The JAQs are in the process of completion and I have asked to see first drafts to try and tease out any jargon/potential problems for the job evaluation meeting. The deadline for completed forms is November 25^th.

Colin Rodden
18 November 2003