§ Mr. Ian TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discretion is allowed to local authorities in determining wage rates for local authority employees.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleySubject to certain statutory exceptions, a local authority is free to employ staff on such reasonable terms and conditions as the authority thinks fit. In practice the pay rates of approximately 75 per cent. of local authority employees are determined in national negotiations between the local government employers and the appropriate unions. The Government will continue to urge individual local authorities to take greater control of their own payroll costs by moving away from national agreements and adopting local pay bargaining.