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During the first decade of this century salaries for senior council staff increased by some 75%, far greater than salaries increased for most people. There is no 'one size fits all' formula applicable to all councils' decisions on senior pay since levels are set within the context of local needs and priorities. Setting a pay rate entails, first, establishing the responsibilities of a job and next identifying the appropriate local pay rate for such a job. Councils have access to local market data but the Local Government Association and regional employers' bodies should address a lack information on the broader pay and recruitment trends over time and across regions. Councils must critically assess the remuneration levels suggested by consultants and job evaluation schemes to ensure a good officer cannot be secured under local market conditions at a lower pay rate. Bonuses, although not the norm in the sector, should not be paid to someone simply doing their job, rather only when there is clear evidence of personal additional contribution, with sensitivity to local circumstances. But, of more significance, councils are in many cases failing to establish robust appraisal systems, making it difficult to link performance to pay effectively. The Local Government Association should publish updated guidance and councils should be required to get full council agreement to, and publish, details of the processes used to appraise staff so that the public can understand the basis on which reward decisions are made.

In this report the Foreign Affairs Committee calls on the British Government to use its influence to persuade the US to engage more fully, and swiftly, with the process of political reconciliation in Afghanistan if the US wishes to disengage its forces there. Although the current international emphasis favours intense military pressure, aimed at defeating the insurgency, it is clear that military pressure alone is not enough to bring security and stability to Afghanistan. The evidence presented to the Committee has suggested that the current full-scale and highly-intensive ISAF counter-insurgency campaign is not succeeding. The Committee question the fundamental assumption that success in Afghanistan can be 'bought' through a strategy of 'clear, hold and build'. The distinction between al-Qaeda and the Taliban is crucial to generating appropriate policy responses in Afghanistan. The Committee says that despite the significant resources that have been invested in Afghanistan, and the enduring, wholehearted and admirable commitment and sacrifices of British personnel, the UK has not yet achieved its stated goals. There is also evidence that the core foreign policy justification for the UK's continued presence in Afghanistan, namely that it is necessary in the interests of UK national security, may have been achieved some time ago, given the apparently limited strength of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The security rationale behind the UK Government's decision to announce the 2015 deadline for the unconditional withdrawal of UK combat forces remains unclear and there are a number of potential risks inherent in such an approach.

Incorporating HC 1041-i, session 2008-09