Lancashire County Council Puts Merit at the Heart of HR Policy

Lancashire County Council Puts Merit at the Heart of HR Policy

Under the Reform UK administration, Lancashire County Council is reshaping its HR strategy to focus on merit, capability and results as part of a review of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) spending.

National scrutiny of EDI costs has intensified. Independent estimates suggest UK public services spend hundreds of millions of pounds annually on EDI roles. In Lancashire, FOI data shows annual EDI-related costs running into the high six figures, mostly for internal staffing, training and consultancy. Reform councillors are now asking whether this spend delivers real value for residents.

Council leaders emphasise that fairness is being redefined around:

• Procedural fairness –     consistent, unbiased decision-making
• Distributive fairness – pay and     progression based on clear, merit-based criteria
• Interactional fairness –     respect, dignity, and transparency

The new merit-first approach prioritises skills-based recruitment, clear performance expectations, results-linked rewards and talent development based on capability, not identity.

Cllr Ged Mirfin, Cabinet Member for Human Resources, said:

^{‍"Fairness in Lancashire should be about treating people as individuals, not statistics. Every pound spent must deliver value and strengthen the services people rely on."}

Safeguards remain in place. The council will continue enforcing zero-tolerance discrimination policies, monitoring workforce data and standardising recruitment and promotion processes to ensure equity.

Bottom Line: Lancashire County Council is making HR leaner, fairer and results-focused, delivering value to taxpayers while protecting fairness and equality across the workforce.