Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Richard Clewer, Cllr Jacqui Lay and Mike Osment – Unison Representative.

To confirm the minutes of the Staffing Policy Committee meeting held on Thursday 11 March 2021 and the Senior Officers Employment Sub-Committee held on Friday 26 June 2020

Decision

·         That the minutes of the Staffing Policy Committee meeting held on Thursday 11 March 2021 and the Senior Officers Employment Sub-Committee held on Friday 26 June 2020 were confirmed as the correct record

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

There were no Chairman’s Announcements made at the meeting.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please contact the officer named on this agenda no later than 5pm on Wednesday 16 June if you wish to attend this meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Thursday 10 June 2021 in order to be guaranteed of a written response.

In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Monday 14 June 2021. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

No statements or questions were received.

The Committee is asked to:

(i)        agree the size, and

(ii)     appoint the members and substitute members (up to four for each Party

Political Group) to each of the following Sub-Committees:

Senior Officers Employment Sub Committee – previous members being

Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cllr Philip Whitehead, Cllr Hayley Illman

Substitutes: Tony Jackson, Mike Hewitt, Richard Clewer, John Smale, Carole King, Jo Trigg, Bob Jones, Ian Thorn.

Appeals Sub-Committee – previous members being

Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cllr Richard Clewer, Cllr Hayley Illman
Substitutes: Tony Jackson, Mike Hewitt, Philip Whitehead, John Smale, Carole King, Jo Trigg, Bob Jones, Ian Thorn.

Grievance Appeals Sub- Committee – previous members being

Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cllr Tony Jackson, Cllr Hayley Illman

Substitutes: Mike Hewitt, Richard Clewer, Philip Whitehead, John Smale, Carole King, Jo Trigg, Bob Jones, Ian Thorn.

Under Paragraph 2.4.1 of Part 3 of the Council’s Constitution,it is a

requirement that at least one member of the Senior Officers’ Employment

Sub-Committee should be a member of the Cabinet when it discharges its

function to dismiss and take disciplinary action against certain categories of

officer in accordance with the officer employment procedure rules.

Accordingly, it is recommended that a second Cabinet member be

appointed to this Sub-Committee either as a member or as a substitute

member.

The following Sub-Committees were agreed for 2021-2022:

Senior Officers Employment Sub Committee

Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cllr Richard Clewer, Cllr Helen Belcher

Substitutes: Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Simon Jacobs, Cllr Carole King, Cllr Jacqui Lay, Cllr Antonio Piazzo, Cllr Ricky Rogers

Appeals Sub-Committee

Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cllr Richard Clewer, Cllr Carole King

Substitutes: Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Helen Belcher, Cllr Simon Jacobs, Cllr Jacqui Lay, Cllr Antonio Piazzo, Cllr Ricky Rogers

Grievance Appeals Sub- Committee

Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cllr Allison Bucknell, Cllr Carole King

Substitutes: Cllr Helen Belcher, Cllr Richard Clewer, Cllr Simon Jacobs, Cllr Jacqui Lay, Cllr Antonio Piazzo, Cllr Ricky Rogers

Michael Taylor

Michael Taylor – Workforce Insight Analyst outlined the written report (October-December 2020) contained in the agenda pack

Points made included:

Whilst COVID-19 cases peaked in January 2021 following the temporary relaxation of national restrictions around Christmas, the imposition of a third national lockdown saw cases reduce steadily throughout the January – March quarter. February saw the Prime Minister set out his intended roadmap out of lockdown, with the 21^st June earmarked as the earliest date when all restrictions on social contact could be lifted. Whilst an end was in sight, the COVID-19 situation had continued to impact the council’s workforce and the way in which it delivered services throughout this quarter.

The council had continued to monitor the effect of COVID-19 on team capacity, and during this quarter around 3.5% of the workforce were impacted to the point that they were unable to perform the duties of their role, i.e. they were either unwell with the virus, or were self-isolating and unable to work. This figure had risen from 2.4% in quarter 3 in line with the national trend.

The council introduced recruitment controls in July 2020 in support of our intention to emerge from the pandemic leaner and stronger, and to create and encourage an internal flow of staff. As a result, both permanent and casual employee salary costs had continued to reduce in this quarter. Agency costs had seen a slight increase from last quarter, predominantly in the Digital & Information and Finance & Procurement directorates, due to the need for specialist workers in these areas that could not be resourced through internal recruitment. Agency costs had also increased in the Adult Care Operations and Learning Disabilities & Mental Health directorates, areas that had been and remain critical to resource, particularly during this difficult and unprecedented time. It should be noted that, in spite of the slight increase, the figure of £736k remains significantly lower than the £1.5m agency costs of quarter 1, April – June 2020.

Decision

·         The Staffing Policy Committee noted the report

The Chairman thanked Michael Taylor for his report

There was one urgent item, it was agreed by the Staffing Policy Committee that this item would be taken as a part II paper.