Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To be apprised of any changes to the membership of the Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.

The Committee was advised of a permeant change to the membership of the Committee - Councillor I Davis to replace Councillor A Owens.

Note: No other business is permitted unless, by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified at the meeting, the Chairman is of the opinion that the item(s) should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business.

If a member requires advice on Declarations of interest, he/she is advised to contact the Borough Solicitor in advance of the meeting.  (For the assistance of members a checklist for use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet.)

There were no declarations of interest.

To note the terms of reference for the Committee as follows:

Functions  

          1.     To deal with all matters in respect of the appointment of chief officers and deputy chief officers and to make recommendations to full Council in respect of the appointment of the head of paid service in accordance with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules set out in Part 4 of this Constitution. 

          2.     To consider and determine all grievances lodged by the Head of Paid Service, chief officers and deputy chief officers. 

          3.     To hear and determine Job Evaluation appeals from Chief Officers employed on JNC Conditions.

          Delegations

          This Committee shall exercise the full power, duties and functions of the Council, except in the case of the appointment of the head of the paid service as set out above. 

RESOLVED:     That the terms of reference for the Committee be noted as follows:

"Functions

1.   To deal with all matters in respect of the appointment of chief officers and deputy chief officers and to make recommendations to full Council in respect of the appointment of the head of paid service in accordance with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules set out in Part 4 of this Constitution. 

2.   To consider and determine all grievances lodged by the Head of Paid Service, chief officers and deputy chief officers. 

3.   To hear and determine Job Evaluation appeals from Chief Officers employed on JNC Conditions.

Delegations

          This Committee shall exercise the full power, duties and functions of the Council, except in the case of the appointment of the head of the paid service as set out above."

It is recommended that members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item(s) of business in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph ??? (???) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and as in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.   

RESOLVED:    That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s)  1 & 2  of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of that Act and as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

To consider the report of the Chief Executive. 

Consideration was given to the report of the Chief Executive, as contained on pages 3 to 100 of the Book of Reports, which outlined the process for the Redeployment Interviews, for the posts of Corporate Director of Place and Community and Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources and the internal interviews for the post of Interim Chief Operating Officer.

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development provided a training session on the interview process. 

The Committee was advised that, as approved by Council on 10 July 2019, as their previous posts had been deleted from the new organisational structure and at risk of redundancy, the Director of Housing and Inclusion (JSL) and the Director of Leisure and Environment (HMc), had been offered ring-fenced interviews to the posts of Corporate Director of Place and Community and Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources, via the Chief Officers Committee, including the post of Interim Chief Operating Officer, pending the recruitment of a Chief Operating Officer.

The Committee considered a schedule of suggested interview questions prepared by the Chief Executive and the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development and agreed that these would be used during the interviews for the Corporate Director of Place and Community, the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources and the Interim Chief Operating Officer and noted that the Council's policy required that the same questions be put to all candidates during their interview.

The Committee was informed that each of the candidates for interview had prepared a presentation for the Interim Chief Operating Officer post.

The Committee conducted the Redeployment Interviews for the Corporate Director of Place and Community and the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources and the interviews for the Interim Chief Operating Officer.

The Committee assessed both candidates interviewed to determine their respective performances during interview, the quality of their presentation and their relative abilities and against the Job Description and Person Specification relating to each position.

RESOLVED:   A.   That the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development be authorised to offer the post of Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources to Ms J Sinnott-Lacey with effect from 4 November 2019.

                      B.   That the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development be authorised to offer the post of Corporate Director of Place and Community to Ms H McDougall with effect from 4 November 2019.

C.   That the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development be authorised to offer the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources, Ms J Sinnott-Lacey, as set out in A above, the post of Interim Chief Operating Officer for the period from 4 November 2019 until the appointment of a permanent Chief Operating Officer, following external recruitment, subject to Council approval on 16 October 2019.