Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Nigel Challis, Wendy Mead and Deputy Richard Regan.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 4 February 2016.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 4 February 2016 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.

With regard to the Shared Parental Leave Policy, a Member queried whether the users of the Policy had found the Policy to be appropriate. The Director of Human Resources advised that there had been a very small number of users of the Policy, but all users thus far had been satisfied with the Policy.

Members noted that new dates had been provided for meetings of the Committee in line with the agreement at the Committee's December 2015 meeting to move to a six-weekly meeting cycle. The Town Clerk explained that there was not a consistent meeting day or time for the Committee as the revised meeting dates had been forced to fit into dates left available after all other Committees and Sub-Committees had been scheduled. A Member noted that afternoon meetings would be preferable for this Committee, due to the varied length of time required for the meetings.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report and the dates of future meetings.

Report of the Director of Human Resources.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Human resources which provided an end of year report from the Equality and Inclusion Board. The report also presented the revised Equality and Inclusion Action Plan for 2016, the revised Equality Objectives for 2016 – 2020 and the new Public Sector Equality Duty Toolkit.

A Member asked whether the employee awards programme also included awards for officers' contribution outside of their usual areas of work, such as awards for volunteering. The Director of Human Resources explained that the employee awards did include awards for areas such as this, and explained that the prizes given to employees were usually of a nature of items which they could not otherwise purchase, such as the opportunity to open Tower Bridge. She explained that all awards winners were invited to attend the Establishment Committee dinner.

Members discussed unconscious bias and agreed that this was an area in which further training should be provided to all decision makers, including Members. Members suggested that that this training, along with training in equality and inclusion matters, should be compulsory for all Members and suggested that this should be referred to the Member Development Steering Group for consideration.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee:

a) notes the report;

b) requests the Member Development Steering Group to consider whether equality and inclusion training, including training on unconscious bias, should be mandatory for all Members.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.

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 Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Item(s)                                               Paragraph(s)

9, 10, 13, 14  , 16                              3

11                                                        3 and 5

12                                                        1, 2, 3 and 5

15                                                        1, 2 and 3

17, 18                                                 1

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2016.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2016 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.

Joint report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor, the City Surveyor and the Director of Human Resources.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor, the City Surveyor and the Director of Human Resources which provided information regarding post termination restrictions on Officers.

Report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor.

The Committee noted a report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor which provided details of Employment Tribunal cases dealt with by the Comptroller & City Solicitor (C&CS) since the last report at the beginning of September 2015.

There was one question.

There was one item of urgent business.

To agree the Confidential minutes of the last meeting held on 4 February 2016.

The confidential minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2016 were approved as an accurate record.

To consider a resolution from the meeting of the Board of Governors of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama held on 22 February 2016.

The Committee considered a resolution from the Board of Governors of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at that Committee’s meeting on 22 February 2016.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Chamberlain which sought Members’ approval to consult staff on potential changes to the structure of a team within the IT Division.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Chamberlain which sought Members’ approval for changes to the structure of the Cultural Services Section of the Financial Services Division of the Chamberlains Department.