Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence for this meeting.

I Willett and P Maginnis made declarations of interest concerning the draft report of the Head of Paid Service due to be considered later at this meeting.  They both indicated that at this meeting and any subsequent meeting where their posts were under consideration by the Panel, they would leave the meeting for the duration of that discussion and that, where necessary, alternative arrangements regarding secretarial cover for the meeting would be made.

The Panel noted that the following Councillors had been appointed at the Council meeting on 30 July 2013 as deputies for members of this Panel:

Conservative Group (5):   W Breare-Hall, J Philip, B Rolfe, A Watts,  J Wyatt

Liberal Democrats Group:   J H Whitehouse

Loughton Residents’ Association Group:   C Pond

The Panel’s terms of reference as agreed by the Council were noted.

The Chief Executive presented a report concerning his proposals for a restructuring of the Directorate structure of the authority.  He advised the Panel that the report submitted to this meeting was a draft document designed for consultation purposes.

The Panel noted that he had issued an invitation to political groups to make a presentation concerning this draft  and that all groups and some  independent members had taken up this offer.  He advised that the draft report had already been circulated freely to staff and discussed with union representatives. 

The Chief Executive indicated that he was seeking  comments at this meeting which   he could consider prior to finalising the report for submission to the Council on 26 September 2013.  He drew attention to the absence of detailed financial analysis as some costs could only be calculated once a structure had been agreed by the Council.  He stated  that the possibility of 3 possible voluntary redundancies together with one possible  compulsory redundancy  would be part of the financial assessment as would  2 unfilled Assistant Director positions. A preliminary assessment of the cost profile in respect of the proposed structure showed that it would achieve a saving after approximately 6 months to 12 months. 

He stressed that these calculations were preliminary in nature and further work would be undertaken to ensure that there was an accurate picture for members of the financial benefits of implementing the structure.  The Chief Executive emphasised that the structure had been devised  not on the basis of cost savings but of  new ways of working within the Council and the application of new visions and  values and operational standards across the whole authority.

The inherent principle was the reconfiguration of services to move away from “silo” working into a more holistic operational style.  He indicated however, that there were other options for restructuring proposals which would find more savings should this be an issue in the future. 

The Panel noted that the report was also being submitted to the next Cabinet meeting so that portfolio holders had a similar opportunity to comment.

In ensuing discussion members of the Panel raised a number of issues concerning the proposals contained in the report as follows:

(a)        Directorates of Place and Communities

Several members referred to representations they had received from staff regarding the importance of directorate titles accurately reflecting the nature of their responsibilities.  Panel members felt that this was most important in terms of interface with the public .  Reference was made to the Directorates of Communities and Place in particular.  It had been suggested that the term “Housing” should be included in the former and that “Place” would have little meaning to the public with  “Environment “being  better.

(b) Planning

Some reservations were expressed about the Forward Planning and Development Control functions of the present Planning & Economic Development Directorate being split between two new Directorates in the draft report.

(c)        Feedback Received

The Chief Executive was requested to include in the final version of his Head of Paid  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Chief Executive reported that in order to give guidance to the Council regarding salary levels in respect of Directors and Assistant Directors in the new structure, GatenbySanderson had been commissioned to carry out a survey of market salaries for similar positions in other authorities. The results of this work were now to hand but had not been received in time for this meeting.

He stated that a full report will be submitted to the next meeting of the Panel which would allow  the information provided by GatenbySanderson to give a context to the decisions the Council needed to make on the salaries for the new structure.  It was explained that a benchmarking approach had been taken rather than using the HAY assessment method as it was clear that the Director positions were tier 2 posts and the Assistant Directors were tier 3 posts which effectively set a range of possible salary levels which members could consider.  The market comparison data produced by GatenbySanderson would allow the Council to reach a conclusion about where within the tiers salary levels should be set.

            RESOLVED:

            That  further consideration be given to this issue at the next meeting when a full report had been prepared.

The Chief Executive presented draft Job Descriptions and Person Specifications in respect of the 4 Director positions and these were broadly supported by Panel members.  One query was raised in relation to the Person Specification for the Director of Resources in the prominence given to working knowledge of IT in relation to efficient and effective delivery of services.  It was queried whether “working knowledge” was the right phraseology to use in that the real objective as stated by the Chief Executive was to use IT as a way of changing working practices and not merely replicate existing practices conducted by other methods.

 The Chief Executive undertook to look at this section of the Person Specification.

            RESOLVED:

            That the draft Job Descriptions and Person Specifications be supported subject to the observations made.

The Assistant to the Chief Executive reported that the services of Counsel had been engaged to carry out training for members of this Panel and deputies in the Employment Procedure Rules and the forthcoming process of interviews, etc. in pursuance of the new structure. 

This was planned for 14 October 2013 and it was agreed that all members of the Panel and the deputies should attend to ensure that they are fully conversant with the Employment Procedure Rules before the process began.  One member of the Panel and 1 deputy indicated that they would not be available as they were abroad on  14 October 2013 and with this in mind it was agreed that those 2 members would be unable, until trained, to take any part in the interviewing process. 

            RESOLVED:

            That Counsel be engaged to carry out training in respect of the Employment Procedure Rules for Panel members and deputies at an approximate cost of £1,000.

            RESOLVED:

            That the date of the next meeting be 19 September 2013 at 8.00 p.m. with the scheduled meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Finance being retimed to begin at 6.00 p.m. or 6.30 p.m. on that day so as to accommodate the next meeting of this Panel.