Agenda and minutes

There were no petitions or requests to address the meeting.

There was no urgent business.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 6 February 2013 and 15 May 2013.

The minutes of the meetings held on 6 February 2013 and 15 May 2013 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Report of Head of Transformation

Summary

To consider the Council policy in relation to the revised Joint Home-working Policy.

Recommendations

The Personnel Committee is recommended to:

(1)          Approved the revised Joint Home-working policy.

The HR Manager (South Northamptonshire Council) presented a report on the revised Joint Home-Working policy.

The policy would cover all staff at Cherwell District Council and South Northamptonshire Council and provided guidance for working at home and mobile working. The revised policy provided clearer definitions on the management of home working and the way in which an employee could apply for home working and the definition of the types of home working. It was anticipated that this policy would help develop a more flexible workforce.

Four teams representing a cross section of council services would be piloting the policy between September and December 2013.

The Committee agreed that carrying out a pilot scheme would to useful to establish the aspects which do and do not work well. The Committee commented that the policy would be of benefit to the organisation.

In response to the Committee’s concerns regarding potential issues of trust, the HR Manager explained that policies would be in place to reverse homeworking if it was misused by an individual.

It was noted that the Council and Employee Joint Committee had supported the revised policy.

Resolved

(1)          That the revised Joint Home-Working policy be approved.

Report of Head of Transformation

Summary

The purpose of this report is to detail employment statistics, by Directorate, for information and monitoring purposes and to compare the Cherwell District Council position against the wider employment market.

Recommendations

The Personnel Committee is recommended to:

(1)          Note the contents of this report.

The HR Manager presented a report which detailed the employment statistics, by Directorate, for information and monitoring purposes.

Resolved

(1)          That the report be noted.

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

2 – Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an 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, 2, 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 it could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of Schedule 12A of that Act.

Exempt Report of Head of Environmental Services

The Head of Environmental Services submitted a report which sought support for the staffing aspects of the business case to implement Phase 1 of the Environmental Services team across Cherwell District Council (CDC) and South Northamptonshire Council (SNC).

In introducing the report the Head of Environmental Services outlined the current service and how it operated at both CDC and SNC for waste and recycling, street cleansing, vehicle and fleet management across both sites.

The committee was advised that staff consultation on Phase 1 of the business case had concluded on 29 May 2012.  This process had included numerous meetings with affected staff and unions at both councils.

Resolved

(1)          That the consultation comments and responses tabled at the meeting be noted.

(2)          That the staffing aspects of the Business Case to implement Phase 1 of the Environmental Services Business Case between South Northamptonshire Council and Cherwell District Council be endorsed, and authority delegated to the Head of Environmental Services to take all necessary steps to implement the structure in compliance with the Organisational Change policy and in consultation with the HR Manager for both Councils.

Exempt Report of Head of Transformation

The Head of Transformation submitted a report which outlined the proposals for a shared HR service between Cherwell District Council (CDC) and South Northamptonshire Council (SNC), and a collaborative approach to the delivery of HR services with Stratford on Avon District Council (SDC) and sought support for the proposed new structure.

In introducing the report the Head of Transformation outlined the current HR service and how it operated at CDC, SNC and SDC, along with the anticipated benefits of a shared service, which would come in the form of improvements to the service, greater consistency in support and advice to managers across both councils, greater service resilience, employee development (for those within the proposed new service) and £97k savings for CDC.

The Committee commended the Head of Transformation on the consultation process, the report and the structure.

Resolved

(1)          That the consultation comments in the consultation log be noted.

(2)          That the Human Resource elements of the proposed business case to share an HR service between CDC and SNC be agreed and the non-HR elements recommended to the Executive for approval on 1 July 2013.

(3)          That the proposal to work in collaboration with SDC in relation to the delivery of HR services be supported and that the Executive be recommended to approve the collaborative approach.

(4)          That it be noted that the proposals must be supported by both CDC and SNC Councils in order to be implemented.

Exempt Report of Chief Executive

The Director of Resources submitted a report on the resourcing of Major Development Projects.

It was proposed that a permanent new Director post for Cherwell District Council be established to deal with the major regeneration projects that were taking place across the District with the initial emphasis being placed upon Bicester Regeneration.

In considering the report, the Committee recognised the importance of regeneration across the whole district and that this post would support this work.

Resolved

(1)          That a permanent new Director post with specific responsibility for regeneration activity across the District of Cherwell and an initial focus on regeneration in Bicester be established and the Director of Resources be requested to carry out all actions to enact this decision.

(2)          That the Director or Resources be requested to run an internal appointment process in the first instance.

(3)          That the Director of Resources be requested to commence recruitment to the role as quickly as practicable.

(4)          That the Committee delegate authority to the Chief Executive to finalise all other arrangements in relation to the establishment, terms and conditions and recruitment of this post.