Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

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.

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

Annex A to Agenda Item 9 (Exit Discretion) on the grounds that they contain 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).

Resolved: That the press and public be excluded from the

meeting during the consideration of annex A to Agenda Item 9 on the grounds that they contained 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).

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Staffing Matters & Urgency Committee held on 24 August 2020 (to follow).

Resolved: That the minutes of the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee held on 24 August 2020 be approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record at the next available opportunity.

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 have changed to 2

working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the

management of public participation at remote meetings. The

deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Thursday

17 September 2020.

To register to speak please contact Democratic Services, on the

details at the foot of the agenda. You will then be advised on the

procedures for dialling into the remote meeting.

Webcasting of Remote Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this remote

public meeting will be webcast including any registered public

speakers who have given their permission. The remote public

meeting can be viewed live and on demand at

www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

During coronavirus, we've made some changes to how we're

running council meetings. See our coronavirus 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.

This report updates the Committee on the recruitment of the Assistant Director (AD) Housing and Community Safety. 

Members considered a report updating them on the recruitment of the Assistant Director (AD) Housing and Community Safety. The Interim Head of Paid Service advised that following the withdrawal of the candidate, the Committee had three options in taking the recruitment process forward. He outlined the three options and it was:  

Resolved:

                     i.        That approval be given to Option 3 for the filling of Assistant Director (AD) Housing and Community Safety post on an interim basis as recommended by the appointments sub-committee.

                    ii.        That approval be given to the remuneration package for the Assistant Director posts at a job evaluated salary of £71,521 to £79,459.

                  iii.        That approval be given to the establishment of an Appointments Sub-Committee consisting of three members, one from each main party (1 Liberal Democrat  1 Labour and 1 Green) to include a member of the Executive. The membership of the Committee is agreed as Cllrs Craghill, Waller and Pavlovic.

                  iv.        That the Appointments Sub-Committee be authorised to conduct the final interviews, select a successful candidate and make an offer of employment subject to the necessary employment procedures

Reason:     To allow an interim appointment to the Assistant Director posts to be made.

This report details the proposal to cover the interim vacancy for Corporate Director of Health, Housing and Adult Social Care.

Members received a report detailing the proposal to cover the interim vacancy for Corporate Director of Health, Housing and Adult Social Care (HHASC) who had resigned from the authority, with her last day of employment being 18 October 2020. Therefore arrangements needed to be identified to ensure the continued delivery of statutory services are provided to the councils residents. Annex A detailed the interim and proposed the structure. The Interim Head of Paid Service and Head of HR and OD outlined the interim structure.

In response to questions raised by Members, it was confirmed that:

·        Concerning the Corporate Director of People working with the LGA to undertake an assurance review during the interim period, the Corporate Director Children, Education and Communities explained that the LGA had developed a methodology for this to ensure that the right governance and quality assurance arrangements were in place.

·        The consultation meetings with staff had finished.

·        Trade Unions were supportive of the structure and they would be engaged in discussions regarding discussions on the permanent structure.

It was:

Resolved:

a)          That approval be given to progress with the interim structure as proposed for the following posts:

                                      i.          Interim Corporate Director of People

                                     ii.          Housing & Community Safety to move to Economy & Place

                                   iii.          Interim Director of Childrens

                                   iv.          Interim Director of Place

b)          That approval be given to progress the interim Director opportunities to progress through chief officer recruitment and appointment process.

c)           That approval be given to progress the interim opportunity to be advertised internally only and limited to the Assistant Directors within the Directorate areas identified.

d)          That agreement be given to set up two Appointment Sub-Committees to appoint to the interim Director roles. The membership of these were agreed as:

1.   Appointment Sub-Committee for appointment of Interim Director of Place – Cllrs Craghill (Chair), Waller and Pavlovic.

2.   Appointment Sub-Committee for appointment of Interim Director of Childrens – Cllrs Cuthbertson (Chair), and Smalley and the Labour Group proposed appointment to be confirmed by Cllr Myers (Leader, Labour Group) to the Chair.

e)          That the Appointment Sub-Committees be delegated sufficient powers enable them to conduct the recruitment process, select and appoint a candidate, subject to the requirements of the standing orders on appointment.

Reason:     To allow essential work to be covered by the vacancy of Corporate Director of HHASC.

The Interim Head of Paid Service and Corporate Director Children, Education and Communities left the meeting at 17:48.

This report outlines the proposed timeline for the activity being carried out in revising and implementing new structures at Chief Officer Level.

Members considered a report outlining the proposed timeline for the activity being carried out in revising and implementing new structures at Chief Officer Level. The report provided a timeline for the current purposed changes, both permanent and interim. 

It was noted that at the August Committee meeting, Members requested visibility of the proposed timeline for the activity being carried out in revising and implementing new structures at Chief Officer Level. At the meeting they agreed to implement a Chief Operating Officer model to take on the Head of Paid service duties and as such had asked that the Head of Paid Service bring back to them a proposed structure for the Chief Officers. Members were asked to note that these could change due to any impact of the pandemic or as a result of any HR processes and activities that occur during consultation and implementation that cannot be seen in advance.

The Head of HR and OD outlined the timelines and progress of appointments to the interim structure. She reported that appointments to the permanent structure would begin shortly.

Resolved: That the content of the report be noted.

Reason:     To give member oversight of timescales to achieve a permanent Chief Officer structure.

To consider the Committee’s draft work plan for the municipal year 2019-20.

Members considered the Committee’s work plan to the end of the 2020 calendar year and it was

Resolved:  That the work plan be approved subject to the inclusion of the appointment timelines as agreed at the meeting.

Reason:     To ensure that the Committee has a planned programme of work in place.

This report advises the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee of the expenditure associated with the proposed dismissal of an employee on the grounds of redundancy.

Members considered a report which advised them of the expenditure associated with the proposed dismissal of an employee on the grounds of redundancy. Details of the proposal and its implications were set out in the business cases in exempt Annex A to the report.

Resolved: That the expenditure associated with the proposed dismissal of the employees on the grounds of redundancy detailed in Annex A be noted.

Reason:     In order to provide an overview of the expenditure.