Agenda, decisions and minutes

Personnel Committee - Tuesday 12 September 2023 6.30 pm

Venue: Bodicote House, Bodicote, Banbury, OX15 4AA

Contact: Aaron Hetherington, Democratic and Elections Email: democracy@cherwell-dc.gov.uk, 01295 221534

Media

Items
No.	Item
12.	Appointment of Chairman To appoint a Chairman for the remainder of the 2023/24 municipal year. Additional documents: Webcast for 12. Decision: Resolved (1) That Councillor Lynn Pratt be appointed Chairman of Personnel Committee for the remainder of the 2023/2024 municipal year. Minutes: The Chairman of the Personnel Committee having stood down from the Committee, the Principal Officer – Electoral Services Lead opened the meeting and call for nominations for the appointment of Chairman of the Personnel Committee for the remainder of the 2023/2024 municipal year. It was proposed by Councillor Wood and seconded by Councillor Webb that Councillor Pratt be appointed Chairman of the Personnel Committee for the remained of the 2023/2024 municipal year. It was subsequently proposed by Councillor Crichton and seconded by Councillor Beere that Councillor Watkins be appointed Chairman of the Personnel Committee for the remained of the 2023/2024 municipal year. There being two nominations for Chairman of the Personnel Committee, it was put to the vote. There were five votes for Councillor Pratt and five votes for Councillor Watkins with no abstentions, resulting in a tie. (Councillor Lytton arrived after the vote had taken place) Councillor Pratt and Councillor Watkins confirmed they did not wish to withdraw their nomination for Chairman. The Committee endorsed the suggestion of the Governance and Elections Manager that the Assistant Director of Human Resources, for impartiality, draw a name to appoint the Chairman. The Assistant Director of Human Resources drew Councillor Lynn Pratt’s name. Resolved (1) That Councillor Lynn Pratt be appointed Chairman of the Personnel Committee for the remainder of the 2023/2024 municipal year.
13.	Appointment of Vice-Chairman (if required) In the event of the Vice-Chairman being appointed as Chairman, the committee will be required to appoint a new Vice-Chairman. Additional documents: Webcast for 13. Decision: Resolved (1) That Councillor Amanda Watkins be appointed Vice-Chairman of Personnel Committee for the remainder of the 2023/2024 municipal year. Minutes: The Vice-Chairman having been appointed Chairman, it was necessary to appoint a new Vice-Chairman for the remainder of the municipal year. It was proposed by Councillor Crichton and seconded by Councillor Beere that Councillor Watkins be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Personnel Committee for the remainder of the 2023/24 municipal year. There were no other nominations. Resolved (1) That Councillor Amanda Watkins be appointed Vice-Chairman of Personnel Committee for the remainder of the 2023/2024 municipal year.
14.	Declarations of Interest 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. Additional documents: Webcast for 14. Minutes: There were no declarations of interests.
15.	Petitions and Requests to Address the Meeting The Chairman to report on any requests to submit petitions or to address the meeting. Additional documents: Webcast for 15. Minutes: There were no petitions or requests to address the meeting.
16.	Urgent Business The Chairman to advise whether they have agreed to any item of urgent business being admitted to the agenda. Additional documents: Webcast for 16. Minutes: There were no items of urgent business.
17.	Minutes PDF 205 KB To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 13 June 2023. Additional documents: Webcast for 17. Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 13 June 2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
18.	Chairman's Announcements To receive communications from the Chairman. Additional documents: Webcast for 18. Minutes: There were no Chairman’s announcements.
19.	Workforce Profile Statistics PDF 366 KB Report of Chief Executive Purpose of report To provide the Personnel Committee with an update on CDC’s workforce including measuring staff well-being and to highlight the actions officers are taking to address any issues. Recommendations The meeting is recommended: 1.1 To review and note the workforce date for Quarter 1 of 2023/24 provided in Appendix one. Additional documents: Appendix 1 - Workforce Profile Statistics - Quarter 1 - 2023-24 , item 19. PDF 791 KB Webcast for 19. Decision: Resolved (1) That, having given due consideration, the workforce date for Quarter 1 of 2023/24 be noted. Minutes: The Chief Executive submitted a report to provide the Personnel Committee with an update on the council’s workforce, including measuring staff well-being and to highlight the actions officers were taking to address any issues. The Assistant Director of Human Resources explained that the workforce profile report provided commentary and data for quarter 1 of 2023/24 and that ongoing work was being undertaken to monitoring workforce data as it helped the council measure how well it is supporting staff. In response to queries from the Committee, the Assistant Director of Human Resources agreed that future reports would display statistics in a format that captured the data to the best affect. Resolved (1) That, having given due consideration, the workforce date for Quarter 1 of 2023/24 be noted.
20.	Policy Updates PDF 359 KB Report of Chief Executive Purpose of report To seek approval from the Personnel Committee on proposed changes to existing HR policies. Recommendations The meeting is recommended: 1.1 To review and approve the following policies for implementation: - Exit Interview Policy - Criminal Record Checking Policy and Procedure - Politically Restricted and Politically Sensitive Posts Policy - Lone Working Policy Additional documents: Appendix 1 - Overview of Policy Changes , item 20. PDF 224 KB Appendix 2 - Exit Inteview Policy , item 20. PDF 159 KB Appendix 3 - Criminal Records Checking Policy and Procedure 2023 , item 20. PDF 504 KB Appendix 4 - Politically Restricted & Politically Sensitive Posts Policy , item 20. PDF 429 KB Appendix 5 - Lone Working Policy , item 20. PDF 324 KB Webcast for 20. Decision: Resolved (1) That, having given due consideration, the following policies be approved for implementation: - Exit Interview Policy - Criminal Record Checking Policy and Procedure - Politically Restricted and Politically Sensitive Posts Policy - Lone Working Policy Minutes: The Chief Executive submitted a report to seek approval from the Personnel Committee on proposed changes to existing HR policies. In introducing the report, the Assistant Director of Human Resources explained that the HR team were systematically working through all policies and refreshing them where required, to simply and make them more user friendly. In response to questions from the Committee, the Health and Safety Manager explained that the Lone Working Policy was being reviewed and updated as there were now more employees lone working. The Chief Executive assured Councillors that Lone Working was taken very seriously and that the Lone Working policy needed to reflect the modern times. The Chief Executive thanked the Health and Safety Manager for the work undertaken to update the Lone Working Policy. Resolved (1) That, having given due consideration, the following policies be approved for implementation: - Exit Interview Policy - Criminal Record Checking Policy and Procedure - Politically Restricted and Politically Sensitive Posts Policy - Lone Working Policy