Agenda and draft minutes

To receive and note apologies for absence.

Apologies were received and noted from Councillor Ayre; he was substituted by Councillor Healey.

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

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.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at our meetings. The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Thursday, 25 June 2026.

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online registration form. If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services. Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

During coronavirus, we made some changes to how we ran council meetings, including facilitating remote participation by public speakers. See our updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

To consider the exclusion of the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following:

Annex 1 to agenda item 7, Redundancy, Pension and Exit Discretions Expenditure, on the grounds that it contains information relating to individuals and the financial affairs of particular persons. 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).

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.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Staffing Matters & Urgency Committee held on 26 January 2026.

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.

This report provides the Committee with the workforce profile, covering the period of 1 January to 31 March 2026.

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.

This report advises the Committee of the expenditure associated with redundancy, pension or exit discretions paid in accordance with council policy to employees below Chief Officer.

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.

To consider the Committee’s draft work plan for the municipal year 2026-2027.

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.