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.

Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests that they might have in the business on the agenda. No interests were declared.

To consider the exclusion of the press and public from the meeting during consideration of Annex A to Agenda Item 9 (Settlement Agreement), 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 consideration of Annex A to Agenda Item 9 (Settlement Agreement), 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 Section100A 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 17 February 2020.

Resolved: That the minutes of the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee held on 17 February 2020 be approved as a correct record, to be signed by the Chair at a future date.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00 pm on Friday, 12 June 2020. Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the remit of the committee.

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

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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 the coronavirus pandemic, we've made some changes to the way we run council meetings. See our coronavirus updates

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meetings and decisions.

It was reported that there had been one registration to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Gwen Swinburn spoke on Agenda Item 5 (CMT Restructure).  She expressed concerns about the proposals in the report, in particular the number of posts reporting directly to the Chief Executive, and stressed the need for independent advice on any proposals.

This report sets out early options for a revised Corporate Management Team (CMT), which will ensure that efficiencies are made as agreed by the Committee in February 2020.

Members considered a report which set out early options for a revised Corporate Management Team (CMT) to ensure that efficiencies were met, as agreed by the committee on 17 February 2020 (Minute 64 refers).

A minimum efficiency saving of £81k was required. The current structure, illustrated in paragraph 12 of the report, cost £989k per annum and was not yet fully implemented.  The following potential alternative structures, prepared for illustrative purposes only, were set out as a first step:

A (paras. 20-22) - delete the Director of Finance & Investment post and appoint an Assistant Director of Finance;

B (paras. 23-27) – delete the Chief Executive and Director of Finance & Investment posts and appoint a Chief Operating Officer and an Assistant Director of Finance.

Officers corrected the error in paragraph 17 of the report and confirmed that a detailed consultation would take place in June and July, during which further options were expected to be identified for consideration in August.  In response to Members’ questions and matters raised under Public Participation, it was confirmed that the consultation would include input from the LGA Workforce Development Team, as referred to in paragraph 43.

Resolved:  (i)      That the initial proposals to restructure the corporate management team, to ensure efficiency savings can be met, be noted.

                   (ii)      That further consultation be carried out with staff directly affected by the proposals, trades unions, political groups and other key stakeholders, and with the LGA Workforce Development Team.

                   (iii)     That the consultation be led by the Head of HR & Organisational Development, due to the roles involved.

                   (iv)    That the committee receive the consultation feedback and a proposed structure in August 2020, subject to completion of the consultation and any further impact of Covid-19.

                   (v)     That it be noted that, once the committee has  identified and agreed proposed structure, a formal consultation will be carried out with affected staff in line with HR practices and procedures.

                   (vi)    That the decision taken to extend the current interim arrangements from April 2020 to date be noted.

                   (vii)    That during the consultation period the interim arrangements currently in place to cover for the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service be extended.  

Reason:     To allow efficiencies to be made across the CMT structure.

This report asks Members to approve a number of changes to the current membership of the Council’s committees and to other bodies, prior to these appointments being carried over to the 2020/21 Municipal Year.

Members considered a report which sought approval for a number of changes to the Council’s appointments to its committees and to other bodies, prior to these being carried over to the 2020-21 Municipal Year.  This followed the cancellation of the Annual Council meeting due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the enactment of legislation enabling existing appointment to be carried over until the next Annual meeting could take place. 

Existing appointments were set out in Annex A to the report.  Proposed changes to these were set out in Annex B, and the following additional changes were reported at the meeting:

Main Planning Committee

To appoint Cllr D Taylor as first Green substitute

To appoint Cllr Craghill as second Green substitute

Area Planning Sub-Committee

To appoint Cllr D’Agorne as first Green substitute

To appoint Cllr D Taylor as second Green substitute

Customer & Corporate Services Scrutiny Management Committee

To appoint Cllr Baker as Green substitute

SACRE

To appoint Cllr Cuthbertson

York Citizens Theatre Trust

Cllr Hook to replace Cllr Mason

In response to Members’ questions, officers confirmed that the omission of ‘Vice Chair’ against Cllr Pavlovic’s name at in the first page of Annex A (Planning Committee) was an error, and that no changes were proposed to the existing Chair and Vice Chair appointments.

Resolved:  (i)      That the changes to appointments set out in paragraph 2 of the report, and the further changes reported at the meeting, be approved.

                   (ii)      That it be noted that, subject to these changes, the existing appointments set out in Annexes 1 and 2 to the report will be carried over to the 2020/21 municipal year.

Reason:     To ensure that appropriate Council appointments are in place for the 2020/21 municipal year.

This report presents the workforce profile as at the end of March 2020 and asks Members to consider whether any area is to be referred to the Customer & Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee.

Members considered a report which presented the Council’s workplace profile as at the end of March 2020, for Members to note and to highlight any areas for consideration by the Customer & Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee.

The profile, attached as Appendix 1 to the report, brought together data that was already publicly available through the council and on the Open Data Platform.

Resolved:  (i)      That the workforce profile be noted.

(ii)      That the next report on this subject include further detail on sickness absences, the impact of Covid-19 on staff sickness and morale, ethnicity data, and the use of interim and short term contracts.

Reason:     To provide an overview of the workforce profile and keep the specific areas indicated under review.

To consider the Committee’s draft work plan up to December 2020.

Members considered the committee’s work plan to the end of the 2020 calendar year.

Resolved:  That the work plan be approved, subject to the addition of the CMT Restructure report to the August 2020 meeting.

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

This report advises the Committee of the expenditure associated with the mutual termination of a member of staff’s contract and the provision of a settlement agreement.

Members considered a report which advised them of expenditure associated with the mutual termination of the contract of a member of staff, and the provision of a settlement agreement.

Resolved:  That the expenditure associated with the dismissal on the ground of mutual agreement, through the provision of a settlement agreement as detailed in the annex, be noted.

Reason:     So that the committee maintains an overview of the expenditure.