Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

The report to Committee dealt with the changes to the Council’s Senior Management arrangements, which had been endorsed by Cabinet on 26 May 2016.

Members were reminded that since the Service Director – Economy post had become vacant its duties had been covered by two interim Service Directors. One of the Interim Service Directors had led on Housing, the other had led on Regeneration and the Economy. Although these arrangements had worked well, Cabinet had agreed that a more permanent solution was now required in order to discharge both the existing responsibilities and the additional responsibilities for the in-house management of the Housing Service.

The Committee was asked to approve the suggested changes to the management structure and the recruitment process for the posts of Service Director – Planning and Economic Development and Service Director – Housing.  Although the recruitment exercise for the Service Director – Planning and Economic Development could take place straight away, the timing for the post of Service Director – Housing would have to be discussed first with Ashfield Homes Limited (AHL), in the context of the wider transfer of responsibilities for the service to the Council. As a consequence, it might not be possible to run both recruitment exercises at the same time. For this reason, the report suggested that the Chief Executive be given delegated authority to determine when the recruitment exercise to the post ought to take place. Members supported this.

The Committee discussed the recruitment arrangements for both of the posts. Briefly, a long list of candidates would be drawn up by an external agency in conjunction with the Chief Executive, who would then jointly interview these candidates. Those shortlisted would be interviewed by the Committee as a whole.  Members supported this approach and the suggested indicative timetable. They asked that the dates be placed in diaries to ensure that as many members of the Committee as possible could take part in the process.

The Committee also discussed the proposed changes to senior management responsibilities. Members made it clear that they supported the transfer of line management responsibilities for the Service Directors to the Chief Executive. In addition, they supported the re-designation of the Service Director – Corporate Services to Service Director – Corporate Services and Transformation, to reflect the post’s role in delivering the Council’s Organisational Development Strategy. Members heard that the Chief Executive may also re-designate in due course the job title of the Service Director – Environment to better reflect the full range of the post’s actual duties. This would not change the duties or job description, just the job title. Again, the Committee supported this.

RESOLVED

a)    The Committee agrees to delete the post of Service Director – Economy from the Establishment;

b)    That the Committee approves the creation of the posts of Service Director – Planning and Economic Development and Service Director – Housing in line with the job descriptions and person specifications detailed  in Appendix C and D respectively of the report (the salary level reflects  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

The Committee next considered a report which set out the proposed appraisal process for the Chief Executive. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 100(B) (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Chairman agreed to exercise her discretion to allow consideration of this matter as an urgent item. The reason for the Chairman’s decision was due to the fact that that the Chief Executive has now been in post for 12 months the conditions of service for Chief Executives as set out in the JNC Handbook state that the Chief Executive should be subject to an annual performance appraisal linked to his/her responsibilities and accountabilities.

The Committee discussed the practical arrangements for the assessment. They agreed with the report’s recommendations that the Leader ought to have overall responsibility for overseeing the assessment, but also that a wider ‘Panel’ be involved in carrying out the exercise. The panel, which would be facilitated by an adviser from the ‘East Midlands Councils’ organisation, would consist of the Leader and Chief Executive, the Deputy Leader, a member of the Cabinet as well  as a representative from each of the minority political groups, drawn from the Chief Officers Employment Committee. The Committee asked that the political groups be now asked to make the necessary nominations for the Panel to carry out the assessment, which was likely to take place in early August 2016.

The report also dealt with the future appraisal arrangements and in this context recommended that a six month review of the post holder takes place, which would be carried out by the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council and, again, facilitated by an appropriate external adviser. Moving forward, it was recognised that from 2017 the post of Chief Executive would need to be assessed against the Council’s Competency Framework. Members discussed briefly in general terms how this framework might work.

RESOLVED

a)    That the Committee agrees that the Leader is the responsible person for leading and overseeing the Chief Executive appraisal (Performance Development Review – PDR) process in consultation with the Chief Executive;

b)    That the Committee agrees to adopt a Panel approach to the Chief Executive appraisal process, the recommended panel to comprise of: (i) the Chief Executive, (ii) the Leader, (iii) Deputy Leader (iv) a Member of the Cabinet and (v) two opposition members representing both of the opposition political groups, drawn from the Chief Officer Employment Committee;

c)    That an appropriate external facilitator to the panel is appointed by the Leader in conjunction with the Chief Executive. For the 2016 appraisal process this will be Sam Maher of East Midlands Councils;

d)    The process and framework for the assessment set out in the report be approved;

e)    That a six month review will be undertaken with the Leader and Deputy Leader. This review to be facilitated be an appropriate external adviser;

f)     That following the adoption of the Council’s Competency Framework, the 2017 appraisal process will also require assessment against the framework;

g)    That the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.