I am writing in response to the letter in the Warrington Guardian on March 8, from Mrs Hewitt, concerning the council's equal pay strategy and the non-inclusion of midday assistants from voluntary aided schools.

The council, along with other north west authorities, is making settlement payments to some of its employees to address historical pay inequalities between certain occupations within our workforce.

This stemmed largely, but not exclusively, from the fact that, historically, bonus payments have been made to predominantly male occupations (e.g. refuse collectors, grounds maintenance operatives) but not to predominantly female occupations (e.g. carers, cooks, cleaners, midday assistants) even though their jobs were rated the same or equivalent under a former national job evaluation and grading scheme.

As a responsible employer, we are aware of our obligations under the National Single Status Agreement to ensure fair, equitable and transparent pay systems are in place and that all our employees receive equal pay for work of equal value.

Therefore, we have committed to introduce a modernised pay strategy for the council. The process will involve a comprehensive equal pay review being undertaken that will result in a new pay and grading structure being introduced later this year.

The starting point and primary consideration is to make sure we make appropriate settlement payments to staff employed by the borough council where there has been inequality in the past.

The position with regard to the settlement payments and midday assistants employed in aided schools is complex in that the council is not the employer in these cases.

In law it is the school governing body, not the borough council, that employs these staff in voluntary aided schools. Therefore, they are not covered by our settlement strategy.

The council cannot make payments to people it does not employ.

It is true, as Mrs Hewitt states, that the council pays the salaries on behalf of the aided schools. We also provide specialist advice, guidance and support to them as a responsible local education authority. The voluntary aided schools pay the council to provide these services to them, because we offer good value for money in the way these services are provided.

I accept that it could create an impression that the council is the employer when in fact it is not.

I do understand how that can look, especially to the employees in the school itself when some of their colleagues receive payments and others do not. In some voluntary aided schools there are staff who are employed by the council and some who are not, which adds to the complexity and to the confusion. However, it is important to set the record straight with regard to the employment status of the midday assistants in the voluntary aided schools.

Yvonne Bottomley Strategic director of corporate services, WBC