Response:
- Clarification of Employer Responsibility
- Please provide documentation confirming who holds legal responsibility for staff employment and wellbeing in community schools affected by the Education Review proposals.
Outlined in school staffing regulations 2009- employment powers are delegated to the GB.
- Please include any legal advice or internal guidance issued to the Council or HR teams regarding this responsibility.
There is no information on this.
- HR Team Role and Accountability
- Please provide the terms of reference or service agreement that define the Schools HR Team’s role in supporting governing bodies during structural changes initiated by the Council.
Please see attached document for SLA.
- Please clarify whether the HR team is acting on behalf of the Local Authority or independently, and how this distinction is legally justified.
Services are bought by the Governing Body – and therefore the advice and guidance is provided as part of a Service Level Agreement.
- Staff Wellbeing and Duty of Care
- Please provide any risk assessments, wellbeing impact reports, or internal communications relating to staff welfare during the consultation period.
No information held. This information should be requested from the schools directly.
- Please confirm what steps have been taken by the Council to fulfil its duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Employment Rights Act 1996.
The Authority has sought appropriate legal advice with regards to its duty of care.
- Trade Union Consultation
- Please provide records of any formal consultation with recognised trade unions under Section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, including dates, attendees, and outcomes.
No formal consultation has taken place with trade unions.
- Legal Compliance with TUPE and Redundancy Law
- Please provide any legal assessments or correspondence regarding the potential application of TUPE regulations or redundancy procedures in relation to the proposed school mergers.
The information you have requested is exempt from disclosure under Section 42(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This exemption applies to information covered by legal professional privilege. In making the decision to apply the exemption, the public interest in the release of this information against the public interest in maintaining and applying legal professional privilege in this case was considered. On balance, we consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure in this case.