F: APPROVALS PROCESS
What should you do before you submit your proposals?
1. Use the checklists in Annex B to make sure that you have included all of the information necessary for us to approve your remit. If you have any questions or want to clarify anything please speak to the Finance Pay Policy team.
How are we going to assess your remit proposals?
2. Firstly, the Finance Pay Policy team will assess the outturn for all years of your last remit against that approved, for 2007-08 this will be forecast outturn. We will focus on comparison with the approved Increase for Staff in Post percentage and basic award. We will also take into account the actual new money and headline cost of the pay award and the increase in the paybill per head. As well as the figures we will also consider whether any changes to pay structures have been implemented as proposed and whether any conditions placed on approval have been met.
3. The Finance Pay Policy team will rate your outturn as follows:
4. If your outturn is rated as Red your current remit must be considered by the Remuneration Group. There may be circumstances that couldn't have been foreseen in your last remit that have led to the approved remit being exceeded, not implemented as proposed or conditions not complied with and you must provide an explanation. 5. The Remuneration Group will take into account this explanation when considering the circumstances of approval and implementation. Where you have significantly exceeded the approved remit or have materially moved away from the basis of that remit then the Remuneration Group may refer the outturn and your current remit to Ministers. The Remuneration Group expect Ministers to take action where the explanation is not adequate. The potential consequences of significantly exceeding your remit in such circumstances are set out in Chapter G paragraphs 7-8. |  |
| 6. If your outturn is rated as Amber you will be expected to set out in your business case how you will make sure that full outturn information can be provided in future. |  |
7. We will then assess your current remit and rate it as Red, Amber or Green:
8. We will automatically reject any current remit proposals that are rated on submission as Red under any one of the criteria 7 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) or (g) and we will require you to revise your proposals to bring them in line with Scottish Government policy before they are given further consideration.
9. We will only rate proposals as Red under criteria 7 (h), (i) or (j) following more detailed consideration of your proposals. We will require you to revise any proposals that are rated red as a result of this more detailed consideration to bring them in line with Scottish Government policy.
10. The more detailed consideration will also identify proposals which do not fully meet what is required to support your proposals (paragraph 3 in Annex B). The Finance Pay Policy team will rate such proposals as Amber:
11. Proposals rated as Green will be:
Who is going to approve your proposals?
12. Ministers have decided that some remits may be approved by the Scottish Government's Remuneration Group or officials. Approvals require portfolio and public sector pay policy approval.
13. Officials may approve proposals where the current remit and outturn are both rated Green. All other proposals will be considered by the Remuneration Group who will decide whether the Strategic Board needs to be made aware of remits that are outwith the policy and whether proposals need to be brought to the attention of and approved by Ministers.
14. The following table sets out who will make initial decisions about your remit:
15. Official approval will require approval by the Director of the sponsoring Directorate if you are an NDPB, by the relevant Director General or Director 3 if you are an Agency, the Permanent Secretary if you are an Associated Department and in all cases the Deputy Director of Finance Expenditure Policy.
16. All proposals that require Remuneration Group consideration will need to be put forward by the relevant Director of the sponsoring Directorate if you are an NDPB, by the relevant Director or Director General if you are an Agency, and the Permanent Secretary if you are an Associated Department. By putting them to the Remuneration Group senior officials are signalling portfolio approval of the proposals.
17. The Remuneration Group is chaired by David Fisher, a non-executive member of the Scottish Government's Strategic Board. Members of the Remuneration Group are the Director General of Health & Wellbeing, the Director of Finance, Director of Change and Corporate Services and a portfolio Director, currently, the Director of Children, Young People and Social Care. Its remit includes making sure a consistent approach is taken to approval of pay remits.
18. The Remuneration Group will consider the proposals, including the Chief Executive's foreword to the Business Case, the advice from the sponsor team, the portfolio finance team, the Finance Pay Policy team and the views of the senior official putting forward the proposals for approval.
19. The Remuneration Group will decide whether or not proposals need to be approved by Ministers. Such proposals are those where the outturn is rated as Red and they consider the explanation not to be adequate; where the current remit is novel; or where the remit is of particular interest to Ministers. A decision will be made on a case for case basis but the Remuneration Group expect to approve most proposals under delegated approval arrangements. If Ministerial approval is required it will continue to require the approval of the Portfolio Cabinet Secretary or Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth.
20. The Scottish Government's pay remit proposals will be approved by Ministers.
Who else is involved in the approvals process?
21. The sponsor teams of NDPBs and Public Corporations are responsible for making sure that their public bodies are aware of the Scottish Government's policy on public sector pay and that bodies are working towards submitting proposals on time. Sponsor teams also draft the submission to officials, and if required, the Remuneration Group and Ministers for approval. They will be copied in to all communication between the Finance Pay policy team and the public body.
- Director / Director General / Permanent Secretary
22. The Director of the sponsoring Directorate is responsible for making sure that public bodies submit proposals to the Finance Pay Policy team on time; for requiring public bodies to supply further information or adjust their proposals to bring them in line with Scottish Government policy if they remain rated as Red at the end of the fourth week following their submission to the Finance Pay Policy team; and to comment on proposals, including whether they offer value for money, in any submission to the Remuneration Group and Ministers. The relevant Director General or Director (where this responsibility has been delegated) will take on this role in relation to Agencies and the Permanent Secretary for Associated Departments.
- The Portfolio Finance Team
23. The Portfolio Finance Team will provide confirmation that proposals are affordable within existing budget allocations (taking into account delivery of efficiency savings) and comment on whether the proposals are value for money where relevant.
- The Agency / Associated Department
24. Agencies and Associated Departments will submit their proposals for approval, respond to queries and draft the submission seeking approval for their remit proposals.
- The Finance Pay Policy team
25. The Finance Pay Policy team are available to help you before and after you submit your pay remit proposals for approval. They will provide advice in advance of proposals; receive all proposals from public bodies; check the proformas; assess the business case; rate the outturn and the current remit proposals as Red, Amber or Green; provide feedback to public bodies that clearly sets out why the rating has been given; and advise officials, the Remuneration Group and Ministers on the assessment of the proposals. The Finance Pay Policy team will also escalate proposals to the relevant Director, Director General or Permanent Secretary and the Deputy Director of Finance Expenditure Policy where queries have not been resolved by the end of the fourth week following receipt of the proposals.
How long will approval take?
26. If you submit your remit proposals in line with the timetable that the Finance Pay Policy team have already circulated for comment and which is set out in Annex D then we aim to approve pay remit proposals within 7 weeks. This includes up to 4 weeks for clarifying the remit costings and resolving queries with the Finance Pay Policy team and 3 weeks for the subsequent approval of proposals. Remit proposals that are straightforward or approved at official level may take less time to approve. Proposals that are more complex may take more time to resolve, where the Finance Pay Policy team think this might be the case they will make it clear from the outset.
27. To achieve the above timescales it is important that proposals that you submit for approval include all of the necessary information, that they are submitted on time and that queries are resolved quickly. The Finance Pay Policy team will therefore run workshops for HR & Finance professionals to focus on what needs to be included in the proformas and the business case for your remit to be approved. Dates have been already been set in April. The Finance Pay Policy team will also aim to provide the initial feedback on proposals within one week of receipt of the outturn and remit proformas and the business case.
28. The Remuneration Group will meet regularly to consider proposals during the periods of the year when remits are submitted (fortnightly at the busiest times). The total duration of the approvals process will be dependent on when your proposals are submitted, the length of time taken to resolve queries and when the next meeting of the Remuneration Group has been scheduled.