Agenda and minutes

Apoliges were received on behalf of the Leader, Councillor Ian Moran.

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

There were no changes to the membership of the Committee.

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 receive as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, 8 October 2019.

RESOLVED      That the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, 8 October 2019 be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

It is recommended that members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item 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 Paragraphs 1 & 3 (Individual / business affairs) 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 paragraphs 1 & 3 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 309 to 568 of the Book of Reports, which sought agreement of the shortlist of candidates to be taken forward to the Assessment Centre on 26 November for the post of Chief Operating Officer, sought agreement of the Interview Questions, Assessment Centre 'Fish Bowl' exercise, Staff Forum Questions, Presentation Question and Documentation and Scoring System, along with an update on progress since the last meeting of the Committee.

North West Employers referred to the list circulated prior to the meeting, which members of the Committee had scored in accordance with the shortlisting matrix and the draft interview questions and scoring sheet, draft presentation question, the draft discussion topic for the Fishbowl exercise and the draft Staff Forum questions. 

RESOLVED:   A.  That the update from North West Employers Organisation on applications for the post of Chief Operating Officer be noted.

B.   That the following 6 candidates be invited to the Assessment Centre on 26 November: 2171; 2174; 2183; 2185; 2186 and 2188, and the following candidates be held in reserve: 2175; 2191; 2184 and 2166, should any of the 6 candidates withdraw.

C.   That the  interview, Staff Forum and presentation questions, together with the content of the test/group exercise to be used in the course of the recruitment process for the post, be agreed, subject to some minor amendments.

D.   That the programme for 26 November 2019, as discussed at the meeting, beagreed.

E.      That the scoring system at interview be agreed.

F.      That the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development, in consultation with North West Employers and the Chairman of the Committee, be authorised to make changes to, and manage the recruitment process, including any amendments to the interview questions and content of the tests/exercises to be used in the course of the recruitment process for the post, along the lines agreed at this committee.