Agenda item
Announcements
- Meeting of Budget, Council, Thursday, 27th February 2020 6.00 pm (Item 73.)
- View the background to item 73.
To receive announcements from:
a) The Mayor
b) Leader of the Council
c) Members of the Cabinet
d) Chairs of Committees
e) Head of Paid Service
Minutes:
The Deputy Mayor
73.1 The Deputy Mayor informed Members that the Annual Civic Service would take place at 3pm on 8 March at Gloucester Cathedral. She further informed Members that the Mayor’s Charity Ball would take place on 22nd May at Hatherley Manor.
The Leader of the Council
73.2 The Leader of the Council, Councillor Cook, stated that there had been speculation over the Council’s relationship with the Barn Owl Centre and that the Council was attempting to move the Centre. Councillor Cook confirmed that this was not the case.
Members of the Cabinet
73.3 The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources, Councillor H. Norman announced that the Gender Pay Gap for Gloucester City Council on 31 March 2019 had significantly reduced to 5.4% from 15.36% as of 31 March 2018.
This reduction was in part due to both a slightly higher number of staff falling within the reporting threshold and a slightly higher proportion of female staff falling within the upper pay quartile when compared to 2018.
73.4 Councillor Norman also updated Members on the progress since the implementation of the contact centres in January 2020. She informed Members the contact centre received over 2,000 calls. 40% to customer services, 29% to council tax or business rates, 13% to benefits, 11% to housing and 7% to pay invoices.
The new contact centre software was enabling managers within the various services to monitor calls for quality assistance and training and to monitor trends in call subjects.
73.5 The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy, Councillor Gravells, stated that, in view of reports of building on flood plains, there was a requirement as part of the Joint Core Strategy to mitigate against flood risk and that developments should lead to a reduction in flood risk.
73.6 The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Councillor Morgan, informed Members that the Culture Trust expected to make a bid for £150k and that, if successful, would improve the City’s cultural offer.