Agenda for Staff Appeals, Appointment And Remuneration Committee on Thursday, 29th April, 2021, 6.30 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting/Remote - Please use the links on the agenda front sheet to join the virtual meeting

Items
No. Item

1.

WELCOME & APOLOGIES

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Ian Barnes.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members of the Council are invited to identify any disclosable pecuniary,

other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests relevant to items on the agenda.

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were received.

3.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 79 KB

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting held on the 12 January 2021.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2021 were agreed.

4.

GENDER & ETHNICITY PAY GAP REPORTS & ANNUAL STATEMENTS pdf icon PDF 926 KB

To receive a report from Tinu Olowe, Director of Human Resources & Organisational  Design.

 

Minutes:

The Committee received a report from Tinu Olowe, Director of Human Resources & Organisational Design. The Director of Human Resources & Organisation Design and Julie Mimnagh, Head of Human Resources Operations provided a detailed presentation on the report.

 

The following key points were made following the presentation:

·         The work taking place goes above the Councils statutory duty.

·         Innovations, such as the Ethnic Minority Network and Women into Leadership, set up by the Council are workforce driven and these networks have expressed a strong requirement that work needs to continue to address and challenge inequalities, where this exists. It is also recognised as an important element of cultural change.

·         Councillor Smith raised concerns about unconscious bias training following the Governments report which said that it delivered no impact. The Council is committed to continuing to deliver inequalities training, although it may be rebranded and delivered in different ways. Councillors ideas on reducing the pay gap and increasing representation at senior levels were welcomed.

·         Ian Davis, Chief Executive, stated he was committed to creating a positive work place and culture which does not discriminate and continues to work on reducing inequalities. Feedback received by Ian from officers who attended the unconscious bias training has been positive and made officers reflect on their own experiences. It is important that the Council’s workforce is representative of the community it supports.

·         It was felt that the best way to close the pay gap and increase opportunities at senior levels within the Council would be to nurture the talents of the Council’s current workforce.

·         Officers were asked to keep presentations to 10-15 minutes at future meetings.

 

The Committee noted the report. Officers were thanked for their presentation and attendance at the meeting.

5.

REVIEW OF RESOURCES SENIOR MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE pdf icon PDF 242 KB

To receive a report from Fay Hammond, Executive Director Resources

Minutes:

The Committee received a report from Fay Hammond, Executive Director of Resources, on the review of Resources Senior Management Structure.

 

Following an independent review of the finance structure undertaken by CIPFA, the report sought to create a second Director of Finance post within the Resources Directorate. One Finance Director would focus on the budget and capital within the Council, the other Director would focus on profit and loss, statement of accounts and hold the Section 151 duty for Lee Valley parks. The report had previously been shared with the trade unions who raised no concerns. Income is received by the Council for a Section 151 Officer for Lee Valley Park Authority; this would partially be used to fund the new post. The cost of this post can be covered within existing staffing budgets for 2020/21, however, a growth item may be needed to be included in the medium financial plan.

 

Councillor Smith felt that this was a good idea as there is currently a clear resource issue, and he would like this to be taken to the Conservative Group meetings. Fay informed the Committee the Cabinet Member and Shadow Cabinet members for Finance were briefed on this proposal and made aware of the paper prior to this meeting. Councillor Caliskan supports the idea and asked the Director of Finance to continue to keep members updates.

 

The Committee agreed the proposals and thanked Fay for her attendance.

 

6.

DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS

The dates of future meetings will be agreed at the meeting of Annual Council

in May 2021.

Minutes:

The future dates of the Committee will be circulated after the Council’s Annual Meeting.