Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest that 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 or urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

There was no urgent business.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 July 2011.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 July 2011 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Report of Chief Executive

Summary

To update the Joint Personnel Committee on progress on the management restructuring and to propose the basis for incremental progression.

Recommendations           

The Joint Personnel Committee is recommended to:

(1)               Note the contents of the report.

(2)               Approve the proposals for incremental progression for the posts in Joint Management Team.        

(3)               Note that the recommendations for the appointment of the statutory officers will require consent from both Councils.

The Chief Executive submitted a report to update the Joint Personnel Committee on progress on the management restructuring and to propose the basis for incremental progression.

Resolved

(1)               That the contents of the report be noted.

(2)               That the proposals for incremental progression for the posts in Joint Management Team be approved.           

(3)               That it be noted that the recommendations for the appointment of the statutory officers will require consent from both Councils.

Representatives from Veredus and the Democratic, Scrutiny and Elections Manager (Cherwell) will brief Members on key elements to consider for the conduct of the interviews for the shared management team.

The committee was provided with a training briefing on the recruitment and selection process from James Doble, Democratic, Scrutiny and Elections Manager (Cherwell District Council) and Jonathan Clark Veredus. Member asked a number of questions and clarifications were provided.

The following items of business 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 items 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 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 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.

The Committee considered two requests that had been received for voluntary redundancy from officers who had decided not to apply for posts in the new structure. The Committee discussed the applications and raised a number of questions with regard to each including, how the work of existing officers would be accommodated and resourced from the new structure and how this would be funded. It was noted that at this time it was uncertain as to the skill set and experience that the new management team would have and in light of this and the need for clarification as to how this work could be funded, it was agreed that consideration of the applications should be deferred.

Resolved

(1)       That the applications for voluntary redundancy be deferred.

Please note the closing date for these posts is 30 August 2011. Due to this, it is not possible to supply the relevant information at the time of publication, however the information will be circulated under separate cover as soon as it is received from Veredus.

Members considered the applications that had been received for the shared director posts. Having considered the applications, based on their merit, Members agreed that all candidates should proceed to the interview stage.

Resolved

(1)       That based on their merit, all candidates, as set out in the exempt minute, should proceed to the interview stage.