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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee |
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Date |
29 June 2026 |
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Present |
Councillors Douglas (Chair), Webb (Vice-Chair) and Healey |
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Officer Present |
Helen Whiting, Chief Officer – HR and Support Services |
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1. Apologies for Absence (5.30pm)
Apologies were received and noted from Councillor Ayre; he was substituted by Councillor Healey.
2. Declarations of Interest (5.30pm)
At this point in the meeting, Members were asked to declare if they had any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests that they might have had in the business on the agenda.
None were declared.
3. Public Participation (5.31pm)
It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
4. Exclusion of Press and Public (5.32pm)
Members discussed and agreed that they would go into private session only if there was a clear need to discuss the annex to the report.
Resolved: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of Annex 1 to Agenda Item 7 on the grounds that they contained information relating to individuals and the financial affairs of particular persons.
Reason: This information is classed as exempt under Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as revised by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006); the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
5. Minutes (5.34pm)
Resolved: That the minutes of the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee held on 26 January 2026 be approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record.
6. Workforce Profile as at Quarter 4 2025/26 (5.35pm)
The Chief Officer - HR and Support Services presented her report and noted a largely stable workforce position, with only minor changes in headcount, turnover (remaining at 12%), and sickness absence, which increased slightly but remained below the public sector average.
Agency use had risen, particularly within Adult Social Care, mainly to support the CQC improvement plan.
The workforce profile showed a reduction in average age (now 47) and improvements in equality data reporting.
Retention arrangements remain limited, with seven payments in place, and the Chief Officer pay award (3.3%) had been incorporated into existing market supplement arrangements.
In response to questions from Members, the officer reported that
strict cost control processes and monthly reviews were used to manage agency usage; agency assignments were generally limited to three months but may be extended in exceptional cases.
The officer confirmed, in relation to sickness absence monitoring, that detailed monitoring of long-term and short-term absence occurs at directorate level.
Resolved: That the Staffing Matters and Urgency
Committee noted:
i. The workforce profile provided in the report and Annex 1
ii.
The impact of the agreed market
supplement for the Corporate Director of Children’s and
Education, following confirmation of the pay award.
Reason: In order to provide an overview of the workforce profile.
7. Redundancy, Pension and Exit Discretions Expenditure (5.58pm)
The Chief Officer - HR and Support Services presented her report noting a small number of cases over the reporting period, comprising six flexible retirements and one redundancy with pension payment. No pension discretions were applied.
The officer, in response to questions from Members, highlighted the flexible retirement arrangements as beneficial to both employees and the organisation, supporting gradual retirement and workforce planning; these arrangements were governed by national Local Government Pension Scheme regulations.
Resolved: That the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee noted the expenditure and cases that had been approved.
Reason: To provide an overview of expenditure.
8. Work Plan (6.03pm)
Resolved: That members considered the work plan for the municipal year 2026-2027.
Reason: To ensure the Committee maintains a programme of work for the municipal year 2026-2027.
Cllr C Douglas, Chair
[The meeting started at 5.30 pm and finished at 6.03 pm].