Agenda and minutes

Venue: Swansley Room A, Ground Floor. View directions

Contact: Patrick Adams  03450 450 500 Email: democratic.services@scambs.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

To receive Apologies for Absence from Committee members. 

Minutes:

Apologies for Absence were received from Councillor Heather Williams.

2.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no Declarations of Interest.

3.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 117 KB

To agree the minutes of the meetings held on 14 and 20 November 2019.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 and 20 November 2019 were both agreed as a correct record.

4.

Pay Policy Statement pdf icon PDF 219 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Interim Corporate Director presented this report, which informed the Committee on the requirement of the Localism Act with regards to the Pay Policy Statement and invited the Committee to recommend the Statement to Council.

 

Paying market supplements

The Interim Corporate Director explained that a market supplement was paid for posts which were difficult to recruit to and due to the Council’s equal pay policy this payment needed to be reviewed annually.

 

Living wage

Councillor John Williams explained that the Council had pledged to pay the Real Living Wage, currently £9.30 an hour. However, the authority had decided against applying for accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation due to the costs in terms of money and officer resources. The Interim Corporate Director explained that whilst the Council’s contractors had to pay their staff the living wage, signing up for accreditation would place a bureaucratic burden on any organisation wishing to tender for one of the Council’s contracts.

 

Following a brief discussion, the Committee agreed that the commitment made by the Council to pay its staff the living wage should be made apparent on the Council’s website.

 

The Committee unanimously agreed to

 

RECOMMEND THAT COUNCIL      approve the Pay Policy Statement for 2020.

5.

Appointment of Monitoring Officer pdf icon PDF 230 KB

Minutes:

This report was discussed before Agenda Item 4.

 

The Chief Executive presented this report on the appointment of the Council’s Monitoring Officer. It was noted that Rory McKenna was effectively this authority’s Monitoring Officer, although his current title was Deputy Monitoring Officer.

 

The Committee unanimously

 

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL      That Rory McKenna be appointed as the Council’s Monitoring Officer.

6.

Recruitment and Retention Task and Finish Group: End of Task Report pdf icon PDF 224 KB

Please find attached a report from Cllr Claire Daunton, Chairman of the Recruitment and Retention Task and Finish Group.

Minutes:

Councillor Claire Daunton presented her report to the Committee as the Chairman of the Recruitment and Retention Task and Finish Group. She thanked her fellow Group members Councillors Sarah Cheung Johnson, Bill Handley and Eileen Wilson for their efforts and explained that the recommendations made by the Group were being acted on by officers. Councillor Daunton thanked the Chief Executive and Interim Corporate Director for their support. It was noted that the Group had carried out its work and was now being disbanded.

 

Progress made

The Interim Corporate Director explained that a number of improvements were being introduced, including:

·         Workshops for managers

·         Mentoring training had been procured

·         A pool of in-house coaches had been established

·         The staff survey would be repeated this year

 

Travel expenses

After a brief discussion, the Committee noted that it was unusual for organisations to pay travel expenses to job applicants in the public sector but the Council should have the option to pay these expenses in exceptional circumstances.

 

Disability Task and Finish Group

Councillor Sarah Cheung Johnson, Chairman of the Disability Task and Finish Group, explained that the Group would be investigating the benefits to the Council of adopting the British Deaf Association Charter, following the Motion in the name of Councillor Mark Howell, which was agreed at the last Council meeting. Councillor Cheung Johnson explained that the Chair of Disability Cambridgeshire had offered to visit the Council’s offices and assess its accessibility.

 

The Interim Corporate Director explained that the Council had achieved Disability confident Level 1 and its expiry date had been extended to February 2022. The Council continued to work towards achieving Level 2. It was suggested that training for officers and councillors should be considered.

 

Pay scale

The Interim Corporate Director agreed to meet with Councillor John Williams, Lead Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Tumi Hawkins, Lead Cabinet Member for Planning and the Joint Director for Planning & New Communities to discuss the Council’s pay scales and the way in which jobs are graded.

 

The Committee NOTED the Group’s final report.

7.

Date of Next Meeting

To note that the next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 18 March at 10am in Swansley Room A.

Minutes:

It was noted that the next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday 18 March at 10am in Swansley Room A.