Decision details

Resolved

(1)          That the following motion be adopted:

This Council instructs Officers to investigate and prepare a report for the Executive (and JCC if appropriate) that would consider the introduction of a guaranteed interview scheme for veterans together with a review of the current advertising arrangements for external vacancies to promote better access for veterans.

This Council notes that where this has been introduced by other Councils such as Durham and Cumbria, veterans are defined as those who are about to leave the regular Armed Forces or who have done so in the last three years.

Those leaving the Armed Forces face many challenges and sometimes discrimination in the job market. This policy will demonstrate our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant that we as a council we're proud to be amongst the first to sign up to.

We acknowledge that veterans have many of the skills, experience and qualities that councils could use and utilise and as such, suitable employment within our council could aid the applicants, our organisation and the residents we serve.

(2)          That the following motion, as amended, be adopted:

Cherwell District Council believes that Modern Slavery is a scourge on our society and will do what it can to end it.

This council calls on the government to review with past victims of the support mechanisms in place through the National Referral Mechanism to ensure they are fit for purpose and sufficient in length.

And this authority undertakes to take the following steps:

·         Train its corporate procurement team to understand modern slavery through the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) online course on Ethical Procurement and Supply.

·         Require its contractors to comply fully with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, wherever it applies, with contract termination as a potential sanction for non-compliance.

·         Challenge any abnormally low-cost tenders to ensure they do not rely upon the potential contractor practising modern slavery.

·         Highlight to its suppliers that contracted workers are free to join a trade union and are not to be treated unfairly for belonging to one.

·         Publicise its whistle-blowing system for staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern slavery.

·         Require its tendered contractors to adopt a whistle-blowing policy which enables their staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern slavery.

·         Review its contractual spending regularly to identify any potential issues with modern slavery.

·         Highlight for its suppliers any risks identified concerning modern slavery and refer them to the relevant agencies to be addressed.

·         Refer for investigation via the National Crime Agency’s national referral mechanism any of its contractors identified as a cause for concern regarding modern slavery.

·         Report publicly on the implementation of this policy annually.

·         Update our overarching Safeguarding policy to reflect this change.

·         This Council condemns forced marriage as a type of modern slavery and will work with the Crime Partnerships within Oxfordshire and the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to tackle the crime of forced marriage within the Thames Valley