Agenda and minutes

To note the following appointments made at the Annual meeting of Council held on 9 June 2014:-

Chair                          Councillor James

Vice Chair                 Councillor Dallimore

1.1      The Committee noted the following appointments made at the annual meeting of Council held on 9 June 2014:

Chair                 Councillor James

Vice Chair        Councillor Dallimore

2.1      There were no declarations of interest.

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources (attached).

3.1      The Committee considered a report of the Corporate Director of Resources concerning the responses received and considered during the period of consultation on the proposed changes to the Human Resources & Organisational Development service, and seeking approval for the proposed structure.

3.2      The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development (HR & OD) explained that the proposed structure would add value and support the Council in achieving its organisational priorities by putting the appropriate posts in place to enable the service to focus on interventions and working proactively. She advised that administration of the apprenticeship scheme would be brought in-house and that further work on reviewing the operation of the scheme was planned. She noted that the proposal would bring the Council closer to the best practice ratio of 1 HR practitioner to every 75 members of staff, by moving from the current ratio of 1:150 to 1:104.

3.3      Councillor Norman welcomed proposals to bring the apprenticeship scheme in house and the plans to consider widening the range of apprenticeship opportunities available.

3.4      In response to a question from the Chair, the Corporate Director of Resources confirmed that approval of the proposals would not serve to prejudice consideration of alternative options for service provision in the future, including operating a shared service.

3.5      Councillor Haigh raised concerns about the ratio of HR practitioners to staff and effect of bringing the apprenticeship scheme in house on the workload of the remaining team.

3.6      The Head of HR & OD advised that the proposed structure would improve the ratio and that reviewing the apprenticeship scheme would not increase the workload for the in-house staff because the NVQ assessors carried out the majority of the administration associated with the scheme.

3.7      RESOLVED - that the proposed structure for the Human Resources & Organisational Development team, set out in Appendix 2 to the report, be agreed.

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources (attached).

4.1      The Committee considered a report of the Corporate Director of Resources concerning the responses received and considered during the period of consultation on the proposed changes to Corporate Support team, and seeking approval for the proposed structure.

4.2      The Corporate Director of Resources explained the Corporate Support was a small team and that the proposed changes to the structure reflected the reduction in posts within the Senior Management Team and the forthcoming transfer of events to Marketing Gloucester Limited (MGL).

4.3      Councillor Haigh noted that former civic leaders had not been consulted on the proposals and expressed concern that the proposed structure would result in reduced support for the civic function. She stated that there were concerns about the current level of support and that the proposals did not take into account the importance of the civic function and the level of support required. She noted that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee raised concerns about the transfer of events to MGL.

4.4      The Chair stated that the level of support for the aspects of the civic function remaining within the Corporate Support team would be unchanged and that a single point of contact would continue to be identified. He added that he was not aware of any problems with the support provided recent Mayors and Sheriffs.

4.5      The Democratic and Electoral Services Manager advised that she had not received any reports of problems or dissatisfaction with the support provided to the civic leaders. She explained that the team had initially expressed concern about capacity under the proposed structure if civic event organisation was to remain within the team, but that they felt confident that the new team would be able to manage their workloads effectively following the decision for MGL to take over responsibility for event organisation. She advised that she and the Corporate Team would be meeting with the new Mayor regularly throughout the year to discuss all aspects of the civic function.

4.6      RESOLVED - that the proposed structure for the Corporate Support team, set out in Appendix 2 to the report, be agreed.

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources (attached).

5.1      The Committee considered a report of the Corporate Director of Resources concerning the proposed interim arrangements for the structure of the Senior Management Team following the departure of the Corporate Director of Resources on 30^th June 2014 and seeking approval to recruit to the Director of Resources post.

5.2      In response to questions from Councillor Haigh, the Corporate Director of Resources undertook to circulate the job description and person specification to Group Leaders, with comments to be received by 30 June 2014. He advised that the Council was working closely with the Local Government Association (LGA) on all aspects of the recruitment process, including advertising the post, which would be extensive and would include a strong online presence and use of national media. The cost of the recruitment process could not be estimated at the present time, however, the Council was likely to benefit from reduced rates available to the LGA and the costs would be adequately covered by the savings accrued from the vacant post.

5.3      RESOLVED –

(1)         That the post of Corporate Director of Resources be advertised and recruited to.

(2)         That the Head of Paid Service role be assigned solely to the Corporate Director of Services & Neighbourhoods from the 1^st July 2014 following the departure of the Corporate Director of Resources.

Report of the Head of Finance.

6.1      The Committee considered a report of the Head of Finance concerningminor changes proposed to the Financial Services staffing structure previously approved by the Committee.

6.2      The Head of Finance summarised the proposed changes and advised that the new structure would deliver resilience and that the introduction of a trainee position would enable a degree of succession planning to be built into the service.

6.3      Councillor Haigh welcomed the inclusion of a trainee position and stated that it was important for the Council to provide opportunities for career progression.

6.4      The Corporate Director of Resources sated that the new structure would provide greater flexibility if the Council chose to consider alternative options for service delivery in the future.

6.5      RESOLVED - that the proposed minor restructure for the Financial Services team set out in Appendix 1 to the report be agreed.