Confidential report by Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE, Leader of the Council
Minutes:
The Leader presented the report which sought Cabinet’s approval to take steps to make changes to the senior management structure of the council at tier 1 following discussion with the current corporate directors to ensure the necessary strategic capacity is in place to deliver a proposed new business plan for 2017-2027.
Following a short debate, the meeting;
Resolved
1. To approve the proposed changes to the structure of the council at the top tier (corporate director) and as outlined in appendix 1 and paragraphs 10 & 11, on the understanding that the alignment of services below that level will be determined by corporate directors following discussion and agreement with the head of paid service, and after consultation with the Leader and Cabinet.
2. To recommend that Full Council approves the proposed changes to the designation of the statutory roles outlined in paragraphs 14 – 22. 48.
3. To note that:
I. Initial consultation on proposals to implement a new structure will start week immediately.
II. Once a new structure is confirmed following consultation, that steps to redeploy the current corporate directors into posts in the new structure will take place.
III. Mrs Carolyn Godfrey, corporate director, has outlined her intention to retire from the council in October 2017. As a result she be redeployed into an interim corporate director role as part of the redeployment process while steps to recruit to the corporate director roles for adult care & public health (DASS) and corporate director children & education (DCS) take place. Mrs Godfrey will remain in this interim role until October 2017 while recruitment to these roles takes place.
IV. Steps to advertise the vacant posts will be taken following completion of the redeployment process and, with the exception of the joint post with the CCG, the vacancies will be advertised internally only in the first instance, in line with the council’s recruitment & selection policy and procedure, following which an external recruitment exercise will take place if there are no suitable internal candidates.
V. In the case of the joint corporate director for adult care & health this post will be advertised externally in line with NHS requirements. The appointment will be done jointly with the CCG governing body in line with the relevant policies, procedures and constitutional requirements, and an agreement will need to be developed to provide a governance framework for such a working arrangement.
VI. It will be the responsibility of the Head of Paid Service to work with the Leader, Cabinet and Corporate Directors on all aspects of the statutory responsibilities of the role.
VII. A further report to Cabinet in the autumn will provide an update on the progress of a re-structure at tier 2 to align services with the new tier 1 senior management structure and proposed new business plan for 2017 – 2027.
Reason for Decision:
The continued reduction in funding from central government, and the increasing demands that we face for our key frontline services, means that a new business plan for 2017 – 2027 will continue to focus on the vision and improvements in the delivery of services to the communities and businesses across Wiltshire.
A key aspect in the delivery of the priorities is continuing our collaborative working with communities, partners and businesses. A number of programmes including the integration of adult social care and health, early intervention and prevention to protect those who are most vulnerable, and continue to grow the economy of Wiltshire.
We need to ensure that the council has a structure that is aligned to the delivery of the business plan priorities, and provides the strategic capacity and resilience to continue to meet the challenges ahead.
A proposed change in the senior management structure at tier 1 will provide the strategic capacity and resilience to deliver the priorities in the new business plan and the challenges ahead.
Admin Notes:
The report, considered in part ii of the meeting, had been made exempt from publication, but following the decision this has now been published.
During consideration of exempt information, the only officers present were: the Monitoring Officer; the Head of Human Resources, and the Democratic Governance Manager.