Agenda and minutes

Members agreed to appoint Cllr Kilbane as the Vice Chair of the Committee.

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.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Staffing Matters & Urgency Committee held on 20 March 2023.

Resolved: That the minutes of the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee held on 20 March 2023 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 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 22 June 2023.

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.

This report seeks the approval of the committee to begin the formal process of recruiting the Director of Public Health and the Assistant Director/Consultant in Public Health. The committee will be asked to endorse a temporary designation of Director of Public Health.

The Committee considered the recommendations to begin the process of recruiting a Director of Public Health and the Assistant Director/Consultant in Public Health, as set out in the report of the Chief Operating Officer.

Members were informed that interim arrangements would be required until the roles were filled due to a current leave of absence. It was noted that the Council aimed to advertise for the Assistant Director and Director of Public Health roles from July 2023 with posts being filled by January 2024.

Officers informed that the Council receives a grant that is only to be used for Public Health, and that any expenditure must be proven to have been used for Public Health. Members enquired whether the Council required both a Director and Assistant Director post in Public Health, or whether savings could be made from this Public Health grant to be spent elsewhere on service delivery in Public Health. Officers indicated that a reduction in roles could lead to a deterioration of the level of service which could be provided and that to meet the Council’s objectives the current structure was appropriate to meet capacity and provide an effective service. Members also asked whether there was any opportunity for regional Public Health roles to replace the Council’s current posts. It was noted that the Council had explored the possibility of joint roles with neighbouring authorities but that there was currently a lack of appetite from other authorities to pursue this.

The votes on the recommendations were as follows:

2 members voted for the recommendations.

2 members voted against the recommendations.

The Chair casted the deciding vote for accepting the recommendations.

Resolved:

a.    Approved the establishment of an Appointments Advisory Committee (AAC) constituted in accordance with NHS Statutory Instruments governing recruitment to a local authority Director of Public Health and a Consultant in Public Health.

b.    Agreed that, in addition to the Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health a representative from the Liberal Democratic group sits on the AAC as nominated by the political group (page 6).

c.    That the AAC to be authorised to conduct the interviews, select the successful candidates, and make offers of employment subject to the necessary employment procedures of the council and Secretary of State for Health (paragraphs 23 to 26).

d.    Confirmed the pay package for the Director of Public Health, Assistant Director of Public Health and the Acting up arrangements for the Director of Public Health (which will be as and when required given the substantive postholder absence and up to the appointment of a new postholder) (paragraphs 16, 17, and 22).

e.    Approved the engagement of the North Yorkshire County Council Resourcing Team to undertake the recruitment and selection exercise alongside the HR Team and Chief Operating Officer (paragraphs 27 to 28).

Reason: To progress the appointments to deliver the Council’s statutory responsibilities for Public Health.

To consider the Committee’s draft work plan for the municipal year 2023-2024.

Members considered and confirmed the draft work plan for the municipal year 2023-2024.

Resolved: That the members confirm and accept the committee’s draft work plan for the municipal year 2023-2024.

Reason: To ensure the Committee maintains a programme of work for the municipal year 2023-2024.