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:

Annexes A to Agenda Item 7 (Pension or 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 annexes to agenda item 7.

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 19 October 2020.

Resolved: That the minutes of the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee held on 19 October 2020 be approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record.

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 at 5.00pm on Thursday 10 December 2020.

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill out an online registration form. If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting whose details can be found at the foot of the agenda.

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 two registrations to speak at

the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Janet O’Neill spoke as a former president of the Royal Town Planning Institute and a planning developer in the city in relation to agenda item 6. She raised her concerns about proposals that would remove a senior qualified town planner from an assistant director or higher role to support planning in York, highlighting both the major projects, as well as, the Local Plan that she felt would require a qualified planner to manage these teams council teams.

Gwen Swinburn also spoke in relation to agenda item 6 and raised concerns regarding the recommended option. She requested that the council release further analysis of the options including a 4 year cost analysis. She also raised apprehensions about there being no review timeline after April 2021 outlined in the report, as well as, breakdown of how services could be balanced across the Director posts.   

This report seeks approval for amendments to the Council’s

appointments to committees and outside bodies.

Members considered a report which sought approval for a number of changes to the Council’s appointments. The Committee considered the changes to membership of Committees, including an additional appointment change that was outlined by officers which was not reported in the agenda.

Proposed appointments were set out in the report and the following additional change was reported at the meeting:

Shareholders Committee

Cllr Widdowson to replace Cllr Ayre as the chair of the Shareholders Committee.

Resolved:

                      i.         That the changes to appointments set out in the report and the further change reported at the meeting be approved.

Reason:     To ensure that appropriate Council appointments to

Committees and Outside Body appointments for the remainder of the current municipal year.

This report presents to the Committee the proposed changes to the senior management structure of the Council.

Officers introduced the report and outlined what the recommended option 3 would deliver for the council and noted that the structure needs to go hand in hand with a positive culture at the council, which promotes a collaborative working environment. They noted the support for option 3 in the report from chief officers in the council throughout the consultation period. Officers confirmed that should the recommendation be approved, they would move to a formal consultation which is time lined in the report.

Members discussed the proposed structure and questioned whether the council would continue to have an adequate level of expertise in planning if the Director of Enviroment, Transport, and Planning was not a qualified own planner. Officers noted that expertise was delivered across the council at a head of service level. It was noted that Director level posts encompass a wide range of services and therefore could not expect a post holder to be an expert in each area, but instead their role would be to effectively manage their services. It was also noted that the council maintained a desire to deliver the local plan and would be sufficiently resourced.

The proposed structure of the Directorate of People was considered, bringing Children and Adults Services under the same director. Members noted that they were glad to see that resources would be in place at assistant director level in the directorate. Members also noted that they hoped that the new structure would allow closer working between Children and Adults Services and an smooth transition for individuals moving between these services. Concern was raised however about the financial challenges for both Children and Adults Services and whether these changes would assist in tackling these financial challenges. Officers noted that the council continued to try and manage financial challenges and noted that there would be opportunities moving forward for greater integration with health services with the new structure.  

Resolved:

                      i.         The Committee agreed to the Chief Operating Officer progressing with the implementation of the recommended option 3;

                     ii.         The Committee agreed to set up the relevant Appointment Sub-Committees to carry out the necessary selection in line with the HR processes. That this committee delegates sufficient powers to the Sub-Committees enabling them to conduct the recruitment process, select and appoint a candidate, subject to the requirements of the standing orders on appointment.

Reason:     To ensure the council has an appropriate Chief Officer structure to deliver the councils priorities.

This report advises the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee

of the expenditure associated with pension or exit discretions in

accordance with council policy.

Members considered a report which advised them of expenditure

associated with proposed pension or exit discretions. Details of the

proposal and its implications were set out in the business cases in exempt Annex A to the report.

Resolved:

                      i.         That the expenditure associated with the proposed pension or exit discretions, as detailed in the report annex be noted.

Reason:     So that the Committee has an overview of expenditure

associated with pension or exit discretions.

To consider the Committee’s draft work plan for the municipal year 2020-21.

Members considered the committee’s work plan to the end of the 2021 calendar year.

Resolved: That the work plan be approved.

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