The New Local Government Network, recruitment consultants Veredus and the Municipal Journal, have published a recruitment pack outlining the key competencies and skills necessary to ensure quality political leadership within the UK’s local authorities. It sets out the context in which council leaders now operate, reflecting on the demanding and challenging nature of the role before offering a detailed profile of the ideal candidate for the job. Aimed at stimulating debate over how to attract and develop local government’s future leaders, the pack calls for a widening of the professionalism that characterises today’s best council leaders and councillors and a more diverse recruitment pool for potential councillors. It also argues for a greater capacity-building role to be played by ODPM and its related agencies, and more so the political parties who should apply the similar processes through which they select potential MPs to identify, nurture and encourage the potential council leaders of tomorrow.The pack is available free of charge from network@nlgn.org.uk
More evidence has emerged that organizational change across the public sector is resulting in higher levels of stress. The employee attitudes survey published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development shows that 38 per cent of NHS workers and 30 per cent of local government workers find their work very stressful with nurses, doctors and teachers among those most likely to suffer stress. This compares to an average of 25% across all sectors.Although stress levels are not as high in central Government, morale is lower. Nearly 50 per cent of central Government workers say that “what happens at work isn’t really important, it’s just my job”. This is three times the percentage in the NHS. The CIPD survey also shows the psychological contract, the mutual expectations of employer and employees, to be worse in central Government where only 7 per cent of people believe strongly that “the organization cares about my opinions”. Another indicator of low morale in central Government is that 2 out of 5 feel fairly treated by their managers and supervisors compared with more than half in other sectors.
In the run up to the Scottish elections in May, UNISON has called on political parties to end low pay which disproportionately affects women. The union has successfully negotiated pay increases for the lowest paid in local government and the health service and it is now focusing on higher and further education and the community and voluntary sectors where low pay continues to be prevalent.Ending low pay is one of the issues in a ‘boost public services’ campaign which calls for a comprehensive and innovative look at public service renewal in Scotland. The manifesto for the campaign says that while many Scottish politicians have accepted the need to improve the country’s public services, good intent has not been matched by action. It sets out the union’s solutions to issues ranging from health care to the police, energy and transport.
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