Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Elizabeth Rogula and Deputy Billy Dove.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 17 September 2015.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 17 September 2015 be approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk which provided details of outstanding actions from previous meetings.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Director of Human Resources.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Human Resources summarising the current position for the recruitment of Senior Officers and discussing methods for greater member involvement in the process.

The Deputy Chairman advised the Committee that he had given this matter significant consideration, and had written to all Members of the Committee to provide them with his proposals for the recruitment of Seniors Officers. He explained that this proposal was that all Chief Officers, Senior Officers reporting directly to the Town Clerk & Chief Executive, or Senior Officers who reported to other Chief Officers, but who acted as the principal advisor to a Committee, Sub-Committee or Working Party should be appointed by panels led by or involving Members.

Members discussed this proposal, and agreed that it was not necessary for all Senior Officers acting as the principal advisor to Sub-Committees or Working Parties to be appointed by panels involving Members, although this would be appropriate for some Sub-Committees or Working Parties.

The Committee discussed the composition of appointment panels, and agreed that it would be the responsibility for the relevant Service Committee to determine the exact composition of panels for each appointment, although it was noted that it was important that panels were kept to a reasonable size to ensure that arrangements for shortlisting and interview sessions were practical. However, it was agreed that the positions for which Member involvement on the Panel was required should be determined by the Establishment Committee through the Senior Officer Recruitment Policy.

The Committee also noted that all Members and Officers involved in the interview panel should be involved in the shortlisting process for applicants.

The Committee thanked the Deputy Chairman for the significant amount of work that he had devoted to this issue.

RESOLVED – That:

a)    The principle of the Senior

Report of the Remembrancer.

The Committee considered a report of the Remembrancer detailing the provisions of the Trade Union Bill that had been put before Parliament. The principal measures of the Bill were discussed.

A Member asked whether the Corporation was included within the Bill. The Remembrancer advised that the relevant provisions would apply to any “public authority” specified by the Secretary of State. The Remembrancer was seeking to clarify with Government officials the extent to which this may apply to the Corporation.

The Remembrancer advised the Committee that the Government had recently announced that the Bill would also include the abolition of “check-off” within the public sector (whereby employers agree to deduct union subscriptions directly from salaries). The Committee was advised that concerns about the measure had been raised by the Trade Union Representatives at the meeting of the Joint Consultative Committee earlier in the day.

The Committee requested that further updates on the Bill be provided as it progresses through Parliament.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services. This report was referred to the Establishment Committee by the Community and Children’s Services Committee, as per the resolution enclosed within the agenda.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services informing members on the activity of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) from April 2014 to March 2015.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Director of Human Resources.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Human Resources which provided the proposed Social Media Policy, following comments made by Members at the previous meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED – That the Committee:

a)    notes the revisions to the Social Media Policy outlined within the report.

b)    approves the Social Media Policy attached as Appendix 1 to the report.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk providing options for the future funding of the City of London Pensioners’ Association Lunch.

Members discussed the proposals and agreed that it was appropriate that the grant to the Pensioners’ Association Lunch be reduced, with an increase in the ticket price for attending the lunch. The Committee also noted that it may be necessary to further reduce the grant in future years. The Committee also considered that if there were to be further increases to the ticket price for the Pensioners’ Association Lunch, it would also be appropriate to increase the ticket price of the Staff Annual Lunch, which was currently £11.

Members noted that fixing the grant at £27k would require a subsequent £27k saving to compensate for this, in line with the Service Based Review principles.

RESOLVED – That the Committee:

a)    Notes the response from the Pensioners’ Lunch Organisation Committee following the consultation exercise.

b)    Agrees to adopt the model proposed by the Pensioners’ Lunch Organisation Committee, reducing the total net grant to £27k, with an increase in the price for attending the lunch from £5 to £10 (making an overall Service Based Review saving of £15k).

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk updating members on the progress made towards achieving the objectives set out in the Town Clerk’s Business Plan.

The Town Clerk advised the Committee that progress had been made in adding measurable KPIs to the Business Plan where practical, but this was not possible with all objectives. The Town Clerk also advised the Committee that a survey of all Members would be conducted in Autumn 2015, which it was hoped would allow the development of measurable KPIs for the Committee and Member Services Team.

Members discussed the figures for sickness absence and staff turnover. The Director of Human Resources suggested that it would be beneficial for the Human Resources Dashboard, which collected live data across the Corporation for all Human Resources issues, to be provided to the Committee for information on a quarterly basis.

The Director of Human Resources informed the Committee that the Corporation had recently been awarded the Silver Award for Investors In People. The Committee congratulated the Director of Human Resources on the achievement of this award.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk which provided the Committee with the Town Clerk’s departmental Risk Register.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report and actions taken in the Town Clerk’s Department to monitor and manage effectively risk arising from operations.

Report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor.

The Committee considered a report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor which updated Members on the progress made in achieving the Strategic Aims of the Departmental Business plan 2015-2018.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor.

The Committee considered a report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor providing an update on the departmental Risk Register.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Director of the Human Resources.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Human Resources which provided members with information on the redundancies, early retirements and ill health requirements from July to September 2015.

RESOLVED – That the Committee note the actions taken under delegated authority outlined in the report.

There were no questions.

There were no urgent items.

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

18                                                                    1, 2, 3 and 5

19-21                                                              3

22                                                                    1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

23                                                                    1, 2 and 3

24                                                                    1 and 4

25                                                                    1 and 3

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2015.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2015 were approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee noted a report of the Town Clerk which provided details of non-public outstanding actions from previous meetings.

There were no questions.

There were no urgent items.

To agree the Confidential minutes of the last meeting held on 17 September 2015.

The confidential minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2015 were approved as an accurate record, subject to one amendment.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Report of the Director of Human Resources.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Human Resources regarding the calculation of redundancy payments.

Market Forces Supplement – City of London School for Girls

To consider proposals to pay a Market Forces Supplement to an employee of the City of London School for Girls.

There was one item of urgent business.