Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, 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.

[Please see attached sheet for further guidance for Members]

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:

Confidential Annex to Agenda Item 5 (Proposed New Chief Officer Structure) 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).

Resolved: That the press and public be excluded from the

meeting during the consideration of the Confidential Annex to Agenda Item 5 (Proposed New Chief Officer Structure) 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 and Urgency Committee held on 22 January 2024.

Resolved: That the minutes of the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee held on 22 January 2024 be approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record.

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Webcasting of Public Meetings

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It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at

the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report follows on from the previous report received by the committee during the meeting of 22 January 2024, and sets out a final proposal for the senior officer restructure together with full financial analysis and business case proposals, following extensive consultation.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) and HR Manager presented the report and reported that there had been extensive consultation with Directors and Heads of Service, and the proposal set out a two-stage senior management review process. Feedback from the consultation was positive and there was support for the Directorates of Children and Education, Adults and Integration, and Public Health receiving no changes within the current proposal, as well as for the proposed changes within the finance directorate, and the assimilation of Housing, and Community Services.

The COO noted an amendment from the original proposal, presented to the committee on 26 January 2024, highlighting that it was now proposed that a City Development directorate be established alongside a directorate of Transport and Environment.

The COO suggested that following consultation, Planning could be placed under either the directorate of City Development, or Transport and Environment. Members discussed the potential for a conflict to arise with Planning sitting with Infrastructure Development, under City Development as stated within the report’s proposals.

In response to questions from members, the COO and HR Manager confirmed that:

·        References had been made within this report, and the report to the committee on 22 January 2024, to two Local Government Association (LGA) reports: Of which one was an informal discussion relating to City of York Council’s senior management structures – there had been considerations of reducing layers of management in some areas following this report. The second report referenced was a draft Peer Review which was had not been published at the time of the meeting, and was focussed on broader strategic issues.

·        As some directorates were staying the same, and some were adopting new responsibilities, time considerations would be taken to allow for directorates to fully understand new services.

·        Stage 2 of the process would be done in such a way to achieve savings, as well as reducing layers, and reviewing areas that need additional investment and resourcing.

·        Although the Directorates of Children and Education, Adults and Integration, and Public Health were exempt from changes during stage 1, all senior management would be included in considerations of stage 2.

·        Within the report, the Directorate of Place had seen a greater level of restructuring than others due to a lack of statutory roles in comparison to other directorates.

·        A Directorate of People’s Services had been considered in the past, and this was found to be unworkable due to a large proportion of expenditure needing to be allocated to one directorate, and difficulties in recruiting a director at the necessary salary.

·        Within the report, the Directorate of Governance was now the same as when the directorate was established in 2019, with the removal of changes to the directorate made in 2021.

[The committee entered into private session at 6:40pm for the consideration of the Confidential Annex of the report, and reconvened into public session 7:10pm].

The Chair moved, and it was seconded by Councillor Kilbane, that the committee would:

·        Amend the proposals set out in Appendix 2 of the report,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.