| Time: | 3.00pm | Place: | Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor Tricia Cowley(Chairman), Councillor Judi Billing, Councillor Tom Brindley, Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, Councillor Paul Clark(Substitute), Jacqui Hamilton(Unison), Mrs D Levett(Unison), Chris Carter(Staff Consultation Forum), Christina Corr(Staff Consultation Forum). |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Strategic Director of Customer Services Corporate Human Resources Manager Human Resources Development Manager Acting Senior Lawyer and Deputy Monitoring Officer Employee Relations Officer Committee and Member Services Officer |
| ALSO PRESENT: |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 23 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Lawrence Oliver, for whom Cllr Paul Clark substituted. |
Noted | ||
| 24 |
MINUTES Minutes It was agreed that the Minutes of the JSCC meeting held on 19 September 2012 be confirmed as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 25 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS No other business was put forward for discussion at this Meeting. |
Noted | ||
| 26 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS The Chairman welcomed all Members and officers to this meeting of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee. She advised that the wrong version of Appendix 2 to Item 7 had been published in the Agenda, and that the correct version, containing comments from Managers and Unison, was tabled at this meeting. Also tabled at this meeting were the Draft Minutes of the Meeting of the Staff Consultation Forum dated 5 December 2012. These would be approved by the SCF on 9 January 2013. The Chairman then read out the following statement: ‘Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary interest, Other Pecuniary interest or Non-Pecuniary interest, and are required to notify the Chairman of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring either an Other Pecuniary interest, or a Non-Pecuniary interest which requires they leave the room under paragraph 16.3 of the Code of Conduct, can speak on the item, but must leave the room before the debate and vote.' |
Noted | ||
| 27 |
STAFF CONSULTATION FORUM SCF Minutes -3.10.12 SCF Minutes - 7.11.12 SCF Draft Minutes - 5.12.12 The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) referred the JSCC to the Minutes of the meetings of the Staff Consultation Forum (SCF) held on 3 October, 7 November and the Draft Minutes of 5 December 2012, for details of the meetings, actions taken and the items carried forward. She provided a summary of the main points from each meeting as follows: 3 October 2012 The CHRM touched on Office Recycling as the SCF takes an active interest in this. Joanna Lines, the NHDC Service Delivery and Development Officer, attended the meeting to discuss any staff issues, comments or feedback regarding office recycling, and to update SCF members. Shared Services was a standing agenda item, and the Forum was informed that consultation was still ongoing. The CHRM then gave the NHDC Update, advising that the annual Corporate Business Planning round was currently taking place and the proposals made by the Heads of Service on investments and savings would be put to the Challenge Board by 5 October. Staff had been informed that those parking their cars in Hillshott Car Park would need to use the multi-storey car park and Town Lodge car park with immediate effect. The SCF were advised of the Apprenticeship Scheme, recently agreed by Cabinet. SMT was to evaluate the bids giving expressions of interest, and to decide where the apprentice posts would be allocated. The appointment of each apprentice or intern would be for 1 year fixed term. The Macmillan Coffee Morning held on 13 December in Committee Rooms 1 and 2 had been extremely successful and had raised over £304 for the charity. Under the heading of Employee Queries, the subject of whether it was necessary to produce vehicle documentation every year for inspection was raised. It had been suggested that Members, too, would need to produce the documentation for inspection. 7 November 2012 Regarding the proposed restructure of Housing Public Protection, the Head of Housing and Public Protection outlined to the Forum his proposals for a two-phase restructure within the department. He confirmed that this would cover group consultation and that staff affected would be kept fully informed. Under Office Accommodation, the Head of Financial Services (HFS) advised the SCF that a report on this subject would be put before the December meeting of Cabinet. He then outlined the key recommendations with reference to the purchase of the lease of DCO and that a structural survey to this end had been carried out, together with a design specification which would include energy efficient measures. He was asked when the lighting in the multi-storey car park was to be improved and assured the Forum that he will keep them informed on any developments. Regarding Hitchin Town Hall, the Strategic Director of Customer Services (SDCS) updated the SCF on the current position regarding the Town Hall and the Hitchin and Letchworth Museums, in both of which NHDC staff were cleaning, cataloguing and recording items prior to the move to the new premises in 2014. The SDCS then advised that the second of the Councillor Budget Workshops had been held relating to Corporate Business Planning and good progress had been made in identifying savings. He stated that there would be some staffing implications and that consultations with staff affected would take place shortly. With reference to NHDC Update, a reminder of the Adverse Weather Policy was given and the SCF were informed of the filming of "The World's End" in Letchworth during October and November 2012. Employee Queries highlighted were: the high cost of items from the vending machines; and the updated policy on voluntary redundancy. Finally, under the heading of Any Other Business, mention was made of the Annual Children's Christmas Party, joint-funded by Unison and NHDC, and now called Santa's Tea Party. It had been decided to include in the future children and grandchildren of District Councillors as well as staff members' children. 5 December 2012 (Draft) The SCF were advised that Property Services were reviewing the service offered by the use of vending machines, with a view to bringing the cost to the Council right down to nil. Further information would be provided in due course. The Management Support Unit Manager (MSUM) attended to describe the proposed MSU Restructure. She explained that managers were being asked to assess whether things could be done differently in their services and that MSU had been selected to carryout a Value for Money Review. Part of the restructure proposal was to merge the two Admin Team Leader posts into one, to reduce two officer posts into one and that two posts would be reduced in grade. Consultation was taking place with individuals and would close on 8 January 2013. This was part of the Council's Business Budget Planning. The MSUM and the Parking Services Manager (PSM) together introduced the item on Staff Car Parking Season Tickets. They proposed that staff car parking permits were issued to entitled staff on first starting at NHDC and would continue until they leave, without having to be renewed annually. Issuing just one car parking permit to each entitled member of staff would save 30 hours of staff time and also considerably reduce the use of stationery, with the associated cost savings. On the subject of Home Working and Office Accommodation, the Committee were informed that the results of a review on this would be given shortly. Issue of tablets had yet to be confirmed. Members posed questions on this subject and were told that the time range for home working was from 6am until midnight and staff as well as home workers could use the flexi-time facility. It was commented that there was a slight discontinuance between the Flexi-Time Policies for Home Workers and for NHDC staff and this would be reviewed, as travel time between home and the office was not currently taken into account. A Member enquired, and was told, that they can access the Outlook calendars of staff members, to view where they are at any time and whether they are home working or in the office. Under Corporate Business Planning Reorganisations, the CHRM advised that several service areas were going through a reorganisation process, as revealed at the Staff Briefing held earlier on 5 December. The meeting was informed that the briefing was much more positive than those in the past had been. Finally, the Chief Executive informed the SCF that he operated an open door policy and that staff wishing to see him were encouraged to do so. He also wanted to visit teams personally in the near future. It was agreed: That the information provided in the three sets of Minutes of the Staff Consultation Forum be noted. |
Noted | ||
| 28 |
PEOPLE STRATEGY UPDATE Report The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) presented the Committee with the quarterly update on the progress made to the People Strategy 2011-2015 Report, which also incorporated the Council's Workforce Development Plan. She advised that the three members of staff who had recently taken the ILM 3 Award in First Line Management had informally been advised that they had all passed. North Herts College had remarked that the standard of NHDC candidates was excellent. It was noted that this was the second month in a row that there had been no long term sick leave, and the number of short term absences was also extremely low. In addition, performance regarding sick leave was better over the year compared to 2011. A Member commented that this was an excellent reduction in sick leave and asked what instructions had been issued to staff regarding the norovirus. The CHRM responded that to date there had been no local cases of norovirus and staff had been reminded at the 7 November meeting of the Staff Consultation Forum that there were hand gels available for them to use. Finally, the Committee were informed that some of the actions on the People Strategy Action Plan 2012/2013 at Appendix B were close to completion and the Action Plan was replaced annually. It was agreed: That the Committee note the progress against the People Strategy and HR People Strategy Work Plan for 2011/2015. REASON FOR DECISION: The People Strategy supports the achievement of the Authority's key priorities. |
Noted | ||
| 29 |
GIFTS AND HOSPITALITY POLICY FOR OFFICERS Report Appendix 1 Appendix 2 The Acting Senior Lawyer and Deputy Monitoring Officer introduced the report of the Acting Corporate Legal Manager and Monitoring Officer and informed the Committee that this report had been approved by the Council's Senior Management Team (SMT). She advised that SMT discussion had revolved around proposed revisions as at Appendix 1, which would include changes to the statutory references, alignment with the Members' Protocol in order to simplify and clarify the current wording and whether the threshold for small gifts and hospitality should be raised from under £25 as it is at present, to under £50 in order to reflect the proposed changes in the Members' Protocol. The Acting Senior Lawyer explained that Appendix 2 consisted of responses gathered from managers (i.e. the Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management, the Head of Revenues and Benefits, the Head of Policy and Community Services, the Strategic Director of Policy, Finance and Governance, the Senior Planning Officer and the Strategic Director of Customer Services). UNISON personnel had been included in the consultation, and these results were also included in Appendix 2. Committee discussion raised such points as: suggesting a rise relative to the current rate of inflation (from £25 to £30); that £25 seemed an adequate amount to spend on lunch and £50 too much; that the amount for NHDC officers should be below £30 - the Members' allowance had been raised by Council to £50; it wasn't felt that there was a need for uniformity. After much discussion, the Committee requested that the Acting Corporate Legal Manager and Monitoring Officer be requested to take these observations into account when finalising proposals. It was agreed: That the Committee recommends to the Leader that the threshold for hospitality remains at £25 and that the threshold for gifts be raised to £50 for both NHDC officers and for Members. REASON FOR DECISION: To align with updated statutory provisions. |
Agreed | ||
| 30 |
UPDATE - NATIONAL PAY BARGAINING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME PAPER Councillors Judi Billing and Tom Brindley declared an Other Pecuniary Interest in this item, as they are both members of the Local Government Pension Scheme. They said they would remain in the room as this item was just an update and not a debate. The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) presented an update on the National Pay Bargaining and Local Government Pension Scheme and went through the report. She advised that there had been a three year pay freeze, but that local authorities now seem to be budgeting for a 1% pay increase across all pay bands, although nothing definite had been published as yet. Changes were to be made to the Local Government Pension Scheme by 2014, starting with Hertfordshire County Council in January 2013 and progressing to North Herts District Council in January 2014. Update on Auto Enrolment The CHRM declared that new staff will be automatically enrolled in the LGPS and if they prefer it they can then opt out. This will be phased in from October 2012 and the NHDC staging date is January 2014. The Payroll system will need to have changes made for Auto Enrolment, and Human Resources is making preparations for this. A Member asked if new Councillors will also be joined and be able to opt out if they have other arrangements. This led to a discussion as to whether Members are classed as employees. The CHRM will clarify this at the next meeting in March 2013. |
Noted | ||
| 31 |
APPRENTICES UPDATE PAPER The Corporate Human Resources Manager (CHRM) advised that this report was the result of a Cabinet decision to adopt a formal Apprenticeship Scheme at North Herts District Council. Eight apprenticeship posts were decided upon in various Service areas and North Herts College were working with the Council, managing the process and helping to attract and recruit the applicants as well as assisting with funding for training. The first apprentice would start work in Human Resources after Christmas; Electoral Services and IT had advertised for theirs; Customer Services and Parking would advertise in January 2013 and Environmental Health would advertise for their intern during the summer of 2013. The Committee were advised that there had been 40 replies to the advertisements for HR apprentices. Both internships (for the Museums Service, Housing and Environmental Health) and apprenticeships (for the other seven areas) would last for a total of 12 months. Apprentices would gain vocational qualifications such as NVQs. Both apprenticeships and internships would gain valuable work experience. |
Noted | ||
| 32 |
PREPARING ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE FOR SHARED SERVICES WORKING DISCUSSION PAPER The Corporate Human Resources Manager introduced the discussion topic and confirmed that the subject was still pertinent despite the decision that recent proposals for North Herts District Council to share some services with Stevenage and East Herts will not go ahead. She went through the list of key challenges to the shared service working arrangements and to introduce discussion asked what were the difficulties in cultural issues and how could they be managed to bridge any gaps. Suggestions as to preparations to be made for known changes or challenges would elicit textbook responses. The Committee discussed this topic, and comments were made such as: the Partnership Toolkit not being mentioned; that use of Best Practice should improve services for local residents. Not using it could end up lowering the level of services; there may be other issues and the Council must present good value and determine the best way to tender; some staff will lose their jobs and they will need support. One Member considered that there was a need to continue to look for shared services opportunities. There followed a discussion on the shared internal audit function and whether this had been successful and, if it had proved successful, were users happy with it? Had staff perceived a difference? The SDCS commented that cost saving could also result in a reduction in the level of service. He offered to take this point back to the Senior Management team. The Leader of the Council suggested that a small review on how this had progressed be brought back to the next meeting of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee in March 2013. It was agreed: That the discussion paper on Preparing Organisational Culture for Shared Services Working be noted. |
Agreed | ||
| 33 |
SUGGESTED DISCUSSION TOPICS Discussion Topics The Committee discussed the list of Suggested Discussion Topics presented by the Corporate Human Resources Manager and the subject chosen for the next meeting was The Role of Social Media and How it is Moving on: From Housing and Litter to Facebook and Twitter. |
Agreed | ||