Agenda and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on this agenda.

Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests that they might have in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Alexander declared a personal non prejudicial interest in Agenda Items 5 (Organisation Review 2011-12) and 6  (Redundancy) as a member of GMB.

Councillor Fraser declared a personal non prejudicial interest in the same agenda items as a member of the retired sections of UNISON and Unite (TGWU/ACTS sections).

Councillor Gunnell also declared a personal non prejudicial interest in Agenda Items 5 and 6 as a member of UNISON.

No other interests were declared.

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

Annexes  to Agenda Item 6 on the grounds that they contain information relating to individuals and 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 A & B to agenda item 6 (Redundancy) on the grounds that they contain information relating to individuals and the financial affairs of those particular persons, which is classified as exempt under Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Schedule 12A to Section 100 of the Local Government Act 2006 (Access to Information) (Variation Order).

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Staffing Matters & Urgency Committee held on 20 February 2012.

RESOLVED:       That the minutes of the meeting of the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee held on 20 February 2012 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is Friday 2 March 2012 at 5.00 pm.

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

This report provides Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee with information regarding the restructuring of Assistant Director (AD) roles and responsibilities within the City of York Council as part of the 2011-2012 review. The report seeks approval to establish an Appointments Sub-Committee, to be responsible for the selection aspects of the restructure.

Members received a report which provided them with information relating to the restructuring of Assistant Director (AD) roles and responsibilities with the City of York Council, as part of the 2011-12 Organisation Review. The report asked Members to approve the establishment of an Appointments Sub-Committee to be responsible for the selection aspects of the restructure.

Discussion between Officers and Members took place on information that the Committee would consider when making their selection and the status of this selection process.

Members agreed that they felt that more information should be provided to Members, such as summaries of the candidates’ skills and past experiences, in order to make a balanced decision. Some Members felt that the Council’s redundancy and redeployment policies and processes should be re-examined to take into account any further information provided by candidates.

The Chair suggested that membership of the Appointments sub-committee should consist of himself, the relevant Cabinet Member and that the rest of the membership should be determined by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Group Leaders.

RESOLVED:       (i)      That the report be noted.

(ii)      That more information, as detailed in the discussion above, be provided by Officers for Members to consider at the Sub-Committees.

(iii)     That the Council’s redundancy and redeployment policies and processes be examined.

(iv)    That an Appointments Sub-Committee on a 2 (Labour) 1 (Conservative or Liberal Democrat) basis with 4 Labour substitutes, and 2 from each of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrat Groups be established.¹

(v)     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 to any of the newly created Assistant Director posts if required.

(vi)    That final arrangements for the final interviews to be held between 16-23 March be endorsed and Democratic Services be authorised to liaise with Groups regarding Members and dates for those interviews.

REASON:           To ensure that the appointment arrangements for Assistant Directors are made in line with existing Council Policies.       

This report advises the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee of the expenditure associated with the proposed dismissal of a number of employees on the grounds of redundancy.

Members considered a report which informed them of the proposed dismissal of a number of employees.

Details of the eleven individual employees were contained in two business cases circulated at the meeting. All of the redundancies were voluntary and no discretionary enhancements were proposed.

RESOLVED:       That the expenditure associated with the proposed dismissal of eleven employees on the grounds of redundancy, as detailed in Annexes A and B be noted.

REASON:           So that Members have an overview of the expenditure.