Agenda, decisions and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 2022.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 2022 be signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 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 consider the revised Job Description for the Chief Executive post and also the Report on salary, both attached.

RESOLVED

(a) that the revised job description for the role of Chief Executive, as circulated with the agenda, be endorsed and recommended to Council; and

(b) that Council be recommended to increase the salary for the permanent Chief Executive to circa £200,000 to ensure the Council is in alignment with other similar authorities and to attract a high-quality candidate to the post.

(In accordance with Standing Order 32(4) Councillor Brazil asked that his abstention from voting be recorded in the minutes)

The Committee considered the Report of the Head of Human Resources which asked the Committee to consider and approve a revised job description and remuneration package for the Chief Executive for Devon County Council.

The Committee noted that the current Chief Executive would be leaving the Council’s employ on the 31^st August 2022. They further noted that the current Chief Executive had taken a reduced salary and had only accepted pay awards since 2018, meaning the pay for the role was substantially out of kilter to the pay rate of other Chief Executives of similar sized Local Authorities. 

Appendix 1 of the Report outlined benchmarked salaries for Chief Executives over the past 18 months. This data suggested a pay rate of circa £200,000 would be required to attract and retain a Chief Executive to the post within Devon County Council.  Recruitment and Retention was an increasing challenge for all Authorities and, at a senior level, there was a relatively small pool of appropriately qualified and experienced individuals.

The Chief Executive’s salary was a spot salary and subject to the terms and conditions of a separate negotiating body to the rest of the workforce (the Joint Negotiating Committee for Local Authority Chief Executives) and it was therefore within the remit of the Appointments, Remuneration and Chief Officer Conduct Committee to determine the salary level.

Members discussed a number of matters including concern over increasing the salary in a time of budgetary difficulty, the potential for salary ranges, the link of pay to performance, the role of appraisals, the impact of the pay rise on the rest of the workforce and the proposed wider work stream on a recruitment and retention strategy to address this.

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

RESOLVED

(a) that the revised job description for the role of Chief Executive, as circulated with the agenda, be endorsed and recommended to Council; and

(b) that Council be recommended to increase the salary for the permanent Chief Executive to circa £200,000 to ensure the Council is in alignment with other similar authorities and to attract a high-quality candidate to the post.

(In accordance with Standing Order 32(4) Councillor Brazil asked that his abstention from voting be recorded in the minutes)

Recommendation: that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the Act namely relating to any individual and information likely to reveal the identity of an individual and in accordance with Section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, by virtue of the fact that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the Act namely relating to any individual and information likely to reveal the identity of an individual and in accordance with Section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, by virtue of the fact that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

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

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the Act namely relating to any individual and information likely to reveal the identity of an individual and in accordance with Section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, by virtue of the fact that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

To make a recommendation upon an appropriate appointment to the next meeting of the County Council.

RESOLVED that Council be recommended to appoint Mrs J Spicer to the post of Interim Chief Executive, commencing at the earliest opportunity on a mutually convenient date, in line with the provisions of the Council’s existing approved Pay Policy Statement, and to be in post until the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive.

The Committee discussed the process for the recruitment of an Interim Chief Executive, with a view to making a recommendation upon an appropriate appointment to the County Council on the 21 July 2022.

The process had been undertaken in line with the terms of reference of the Appointments, Remuneration and Chief Officer Conduct Committee, the Pay Policy Statement and the Chief Officer Employment Procedure Rules (set out at Part 6 of the Constitution).

The discussion having been completed and the suitability of the candidate for the post having been fully discussed and all relevant factors having been considered, such as the high level and breadth of experience required for the role and in light of the difficult budget situation and the need for continuity at this time.

It was MOVED by Councillor Hart, SECONDED by Councillor Brazil and;

RESOLVED that Council be recommended to appoint Mrs J Spicer to the post of Interim Chief Executive, commencing at the earliest opportunity on a mutually convenient date, in line with the provisions of the Council’s existing approved Pay Policy Statement, and to be in post until the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive.