Agenda, decisions and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 11 November and 24 November 2022.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on the 11 November and 24 November 2022 be signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on the 11 November and 24 November 2022 be signed as a correct record.

Items which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

There was no item raised as a matter of urgency.

The Committee are asked to agree and endorse the recruitment process and terms and conditions for Director of Children & Young People's Futures and Deputy Director of Children's Services and Head of Social Care, attached.

RESOLVED

(a) that the updated job descriptions for both the Director of Children and Young People’s Futures and Deputy Director Children’s Social Care be noted and endorsed;

(b) that, in order to provide flexibility in a challenging recruitment market and secure an appointment, a market supplement of up to £20,000 in addition to the permanent Director of Children and Young People’s Futures salary of £145,810 (Grade L1) be approved;

(c) that, for the same reasons as outlined in (b), a market supplement of up to £20,000 in addition to the permanent Deputy Director – Children’s Social Care salary of £109,179 (Grade L3) be agreed; and

(d) that the proposed selection process for both roles be endorsed.

The Committee considered the proposed recruitment process and terms and conditions for both the Director of Children & Young People's Futures and Deputy Director of Children's Services and Head of Social Care.

The Report outlined the proposal to offer a market supplement to the Director of Children & Young People’s Futures and Deputy Director - Children’s Services and Head of Social Care roles, given their critical role in addressing the current challenges facing DCC’s Childrens’ Services in improving the current Ofsted rating of ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’. 

The Head of Human Resources briefed Members on benchmarking of salaries for the role, the previous attempts to recruit and the challenging recruitment market.

The Committee noted that a market supplement of £20,000 was already in place for the Deputy Director - Children’s Social Care and highlighted the previous difficulties with appointing and needing to re-advertise posts in this field.

The existing Job Descriptions had been reviewed and updated by the interim Chief Executive, the current interim Director of Children’s Services, the Commissioner from the Department for Education and the Head of Human Resources.

A timetable to recruit had been drafted (at Appendix 1 to the Report). This assumed a three-month recruitment process and a 3 month notice period for the successful candidate, therefore the earliest realistic start date would be early August 2023.

In terms of the proposed recruitment process, an external Executive Search & Recruitment agency had been engaged, who had supported previously with Director appointments.  An outline of the full recruitment process was given in the Report, including the appointment of Gatenby Sanderson, the attraction and early assessment stages, long-listing and short-listing as well and the role of the Appointments, Renumeration and Chief Officer Conduct Committee at Stage 2.

The following matters were raised in discussion;

·         the role of bonuses in the Council and whether these could be utlised;

·         the use of performance management and other tools such as probation, outcomes and target setting;

·         concerns over a potentially limited pool of candidates with the current market conditions;

·         the visibility of leadership being important in the Childrens Services journey; and

·         the use of relocation packages and how these were monitored and used.

It was MOVED by Councillor Saywell, SECONDED by Councillor Brazil, and

RESOLVED

(a) that the updated job descriptions for both the Director of Children and Young People’s Futures and Deputy Director Children’s Social Care be noted and endorsed;

(b) that, in order to provide flexibility in a challenging recruitment market and secure an appointment, a market supplement of up to £20,000 in addition to the permanent Director of Children and Young People’s Futures salary of £145,810 (Grade L1) be approved;

(c) that, for the same reasons as outlined in (b), a market supplement of up to £20,000 in addition to the permanent Deputy Director – Children’s Social Care salary of £109,179 (Grade L3) be agreed; and

(d) that the proposed selection process for both roles be endorsed.

Report of the Head of Human Resources outlining the proposed Pay Policy Statement for 2023/2024, attached.

RESOLVED that the revised Pay Policy Statement (Appendix 1 of the Report) for 2023/24 be endorsed and commended to the Council.

The Committee considered the Report of the Head of Human Resources which outlined the proposed Pay Policy Statement for 2023/2024.

The Pay Policy Statement, required under the Localism Act 2011, was a statutory requirement and should be reviewed annually.

The Pay Policy Statement currently specified that salaries for Chief Officers (Directors) and Heads of Service on Leadership Grades were fixed for the duration of the Policy and were to be reviewed annually by the Appointments, Remuneration and Chief Officer Conduct Committee.

The Pay Policy Statement also took account of the implications of the National Living Wage on the pay and grading structure, recruitment and retention difficulties and the changing nature of work and roles within the Council.

The Report highlighted that a Pay and Allowances Review continued to be conducted and that the statement did not reflect the 2023/4 national pay awards as this had not been agreed.

The Chief Executive Salary had been increased in 2022 to reflect external benchmarking information which had contributed to the increase in ratios, as detailed in 6.3 and 6.4 of the Statement, but was still within the acceptable range.

A new Interim and Consultants Section had been included in this year’s Report to provide transparency on the Council’s interim and consultant reward arrangements.

It was MOVED by Councillor Hart, SECONDED by Councillor Saywell and

RESOLVED that the revised Pay Policy Statement (Appendix 1 of the Report) for 2023/24 be endorsed and commended to the Council.

Report of the Head of Human Resources, giving an annual statement on settlement agreements.

RESOLVED that the Report be noted.

The Committee received the Report of the Head of Human Resources, which gave an annual statement on settlement agreements across the Council. This was the first Report of its kind.

This was broken down into Corporate, Schools and where agreements had been reached between the Council and ACAS (known as COT3 settlements).

The Head of Human Resources added that there had been three settlement agreements in Corporate Services, eleven in schools and six in the COT3 area and that future reports would include this data.

In discussion, it was highlighted that the new guidance from Government on settlement agreements would strengthen governance arrangements and meant more Member engagement in their agreement and signoff.

It was MOVED by Councillor Hart, SECONDED by Councillor Saywell, and

RESOLVED that the Report be noted.