Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman to report on any requests to submit petitions or to address the meeting.

There were no petitions or requests to address the meeting.

The Chairman to advise whether they have agreed to any item of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

There was no urgent business.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 10 March and 19 May 2010.

The Minutes of the meetings held on 10 March 2010 and 19 May 2010 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Report of Head of People and Improvement

Summary

This report details employment statistics, by Directorate, for information and monitoring purposes.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

(1)               To resolve to note the contents of this report

The Head of People and Improvement submitted a report which detailed employment statistics, by Directorate, for information and monitoring purposes for the period January to March 2010. The Committee was advised that there had been a peak in the number of leavers which was primarily due to redundancies and retirements from the expressions of interest process. The number of voluntary leavers remained low which was attributed to the current economic climate.

In response to Members’ questions, the Head of People and Improvement advised the Committee that following changes in the Extended Management Team some posts would fall within different service areas in future employment statistics reports.

Resolved

That the contents of the report be noted.

The Head of People and Improvement will provide a verbal update.

The Chief Executive gave a presentation which presented the headline results of the Employee Survey 2010 which was conducted by Ipsos MORI in March and April 2010.

The Chief Executive reported that this was the second formal staff survey that the council had undertaken. The first was carried out in 2008 when a commitment was made to conduct a staff survey every two years. The response rate in 2010 had been 84% compared to 64% in 2008. The Chief Executive reported that the council had improved its position on almost every measure since 2008 and demonstrated some exceptionally strong results.

The Committee discussed the contents of the presentation. Members commended officers for implementing actions to address areas of focus that had been identified in the 2008 staff survey and noted the need to build on these improvements and to add actions to address areas which had weakened or were below expected performance in the 2010 staff survey.   

The Chief Executive advised the Committee that she would be sending emails to all staff and Members containing links to the presentation to the Personnel Committee, the full survey report and the responses by team

The following reports contain exempt information as defined in the following paragraphs of Part 1, Schedule 12A of Local Government Act 1972.

1 - Information relating to any individual.

3– Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

4 – Information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matter arising between the authority or a Minister of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under, the authority.

Members are reminded that whilst the following item(s) have been marked as exempt, it is for the meeting to decide whether or not to consider each of them in private or in public. In making the decision, members should balance the interests of individuals or the Council itself in having access to the information. In considering their discretion members should also be mindful of the advice of Council Officers.

Should Members decide not to make a decision in public, they are recommended to pass the following recommendation:

“That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business, on the grounds that they could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Schedule 12A of that Act.”

Resolved

That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business, on the grounds that they could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Schedule 12A of that Act.

Joint Report of the Chief Executive and the Head of Human Resources

The Chairman advised the Committee that this item had been deferred and would be considered at the Committee’s September meeting.

Report of Head of People and Improvement

The Head of People and Improvement submitted a report which sought the Committee’s consideration of the council’s policies in relation to redeployment and redundancy.

The Head of People and Improvement advised the Committee that the council’s current policies were developed and agreed to support the major organisational restructure in 2007. The Committee noted that it was necessary for the policies to be reviewed to ensure that the Council is able to respond flexibly and quickly to the changing economic environment.

The Committee discussed the proposals presented in the report and agreed that the current polices should be reviewed in line with agreed consultation procedures and requested that the Head of People and Improvement bring revised policies to the Committee’s September meeting.

Resolved

(1)               That potential changes to the redundancy and redeployment procedure be reviewed.

(2)               That an outline for consultation on changes with the employee side be agreed.