Agenda and minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on.  By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein’.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Arthur and Cllr Elliott.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be dealt with under agenda item 13 below. New items of exempt Urgent Business will be dealt with at agenda item 16 below).

There were no items of urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, paragraph 29 of the Council’s constitution.

There were no such items.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 31 March 2016, and the public minutes of the special meeting of the Committee held on 23 May 2016.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 31 March 2016 be confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

Report of the Assistant Director, Commercial and Operations, to present a new Staff Parking Policy and Procedure aimed at staff utilising staff Council office car parks. The policy clarifies the eligibility criteria and priorities for allocation of spaces.

The Committee considered the report on a new Staff Parking Policy and Procedure. The report was presented by Brenda Brown, FM Services Manager, who outlined changes that had been made to the proposed policy since the previous meeting of the Committee as set out in paragraph 6.9 of the report.

In response to a question from the Committee regarding the feedback from the trade unions, Ms Brown advised that in consultation with the unions it had been decided that this policy should apply to staff only and not elected Members, and also that the unions had also raised some concerns around Priorities 4 and 5, Restricted Mobility (Temporary) and Reasonable Adjustment for Disabled Staff, and whether fees should be payable for permits allocated under these priorities.

The Committee asked about bicycle parking, and it was confirmed that facilities were available at each Council building. Following the allocation of additional resources by Transport for London, it was reported that additional bicycle parking would also be provided at those buildings most used by cyclists.

The Committee advised that parking at River Park House remained an issue, although it was acknowledged that there had been an improvement in enforcement to prevent unauthorised access to the car park. In response to a question regarding spaces within the shuttered car park which appeared unused, it was confirmed that these were not allocated to individual staff members, but were reserved for the use of disabled staff on a first come, first served basis and the Committee welcomed this clarification.

In response to a question from the Committee regarding policies and incentives in place to reduce the level of car use by Council staff, Ms Brown advised that this was covered by the separate Staff Travel Plan, which was still in draft form; it was agreed that it would be useful for the Staff Travel Plan to come to the Staffing and Remuneration Committee for information.

RESOLVED

i)             That the Committee approve the Staff Car Parking Policy and Procedure as attached to the report, to take effect from 1^st July 2016.

ii)            That the Committee authorise the Assistant Director of Commercial and Operations, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, to make such amendments to the Staff Car Parking Policy and Procedure as he considers minor, any such amendments to be reported back to the meeting of the Committee immediately following the making of the amendments.

Report of the Assistant Director Transformation and Corporate Resources to provide the Committee with data regarding the workforce including non-employed workers, sickness absence and equalities data for the period January to March 2016.

The Committee considered the People Management report for Quarter 4, 2015/16, as presented by Carole Engwell, HR Quality Assurance Manager. It was noted that the number of consultants and interims had decreased from 60 in June 2015 to 52 by the end of March 2016, and the number of agency workers had decreased from 424 to 337 over the same period. The Committee was advised that most consultants were engaged in transformation programmes; one of the largest of these, the Business Improvement Programme, had ended in March and a number of consultant contracts had ended at the same time. This would be reflected in the next quarterly update.

In response to a request from the Committee for an example of a specialist role filled by a consultant in relation to a transformation programme, the Chief Operating Officer gave the example of the Project Advisor for the Development Vehicle, who was providing specialist expertise around the development of the proposed Haringey Development Vehicle and the procurement of a partner for the vehicle. Officers clarified that the salaries provided on the appendices to the report were calculated to provide an indication of the annual salary for the post were it to be full-time, and did not represent that actual salaries received by the post-holders. It was further noted that day rates were automatically reduced after a certain period of time.  In response to a question from the Committee regarding the lengths of contracts, it was confirmed that each contract would have a fixed end-date and that a formal business case would be required for any proposed extension.

The Committee noted that there was a need for specialist expertise while the Council was in the process of changing the way it operated, however there was also a need to closely monitor spending in this area as this was an issue that people were concerned about. It was reported that officers were working on developing forecast figures relating to the use of consultants, interim and agency staff and that these would be included in future reports. It was noted that there were no specific targets related to reduction of spend in this area, however any spend had to be business critical in order to be approved and that a formal process was in place for the determination of what was business critical activity. As an example the Chief Operating Officer reported that there had been a cut in the number of agency staff approved for seasonal work on obtaining green flag status for parks, as this was not a business critical function.

The Committee agreed that it wished to continue to receive reports on this area on a quarterly basis and that the Chair would liaise with officers regarding the format of future reports.

RESOLVED

That the content of the report be noted.

Report of the Assistant Director Transformation and Corporate Resources to provide the Committee with details of the key themes that the Equalities Steering Group have set as targets for the period until 31 March 2017.

The Committee considered the report on the inclusion and Diversity Action Plan, presented by Carole Engwell, HR Quality Assurance Manager. The Committee noted that the action plan had been re-worked since it had last been presented to the Committee, and it was agreed that the new presentation was clearer and easier to use.

Jacquie McGeachie, Assistant Director, Transformation and Corporate Resources, highlighted that there was an issue with BAME staff being under-represented at grades higher than PO4 and advised that work was taking place to establish focus groups to address the issues around this. The Committee expressed concern regarding the red flag status for adding questions to the new e-recruitment system to alert managers to stereotyping and unconscious bias, and asked for a wider update on the work in Theme 3; managers leading from the front. Jacquie McGeachie advised that the Chief Executive was leading on work to map what good management looks like, and that managers leading from the front in respect of diversity and inclusion issues was a key aspect of this work. With regard to the issues around unconscious bias and recruitment, it was recognised that there was a need for specific training for managers in this area, and work was taking place to implement this. It was also recognised that there was a need to support managers who may find conversations relating to diversity and inclusion issues difficult and that this was being looked at as part of the action plan.

In response to a question from the Committee regarding the activities without a completed RAG status, it was reported that these would be updated by the steering group at its next meeting. The Committee suggested that it would be useful to review progress in this area again in a year’s time to see how effective the work had been. It was also suggested that case-studies would be particularly useful.

RESOLVED

That the content of the report be noted.

Report of the Assistant Director Transformation and Corporate Resources to provide the Committee with a proposal aimed at streamlining the review of the HR policies and procedures through a process of grouping.

The Committee considered the report on the proposal to streamline the review of HR policies and procedures through a process of grouping, as presented by Julie Amory, HR Policy Development Manager. The report set out the benefits of grouping policies in this way, the proposed themes for clustering and a review plan, which also gave the Committee an indication of when policies were likely to be presented to the Committee for approval.

In response to a question from the Committee, it was confirmed that it was the intention to have completed the review of all policies by 2018/19.  

RESOLVED

That the Committee agree the proposal to cluster HR policies as set out in the report.

Report of the Assistant Director, Transformation and Corporate Resources, to present an update on Fuse, the Council’s new online learning management system.

The Committee considered the update on Haringey Fuse, presented by Karen Rowing, Haringey Academy Manager. The report set out the background, progress to date, early challenges and next steps, and it was reported that there were currently 21 communities, with around 300 active users. Benefits for the organisation included the ability to share information in an immediate way, and developing a culture change from classroom-based learning to digital-supported learning on the job.

The Committee was advised that a private community had been established specifically for elected Members – a showcase event had been held earlier in the year, and work was continuing on identifying ways in which Members could use the system. It was agreed that Members would be provided with the link so that they could explore Fuse themselves and raise any questions or issues directly with officers outside the meeting.

RESOLVED

That the content of the report be noted.

Report of the Assistant Director Transformation and Corporate Resources to inform the Committee of the reports detailed on the Forward Plan that are due to be submitted during the forthcoming municipal year.

The Committee considered the report on the Staffing and Remuneration Committee forward plan, presented by Carole Engwell, HR Quality Assurance Manager. The Committee noted the distinction between the HR client side and HR SSC functions, and that those dates incorrectly listed as 2015 on the forward plan appended to the report would be updated to read 2016. It was noted that additional items would be added to the forward plan as the year progressed, and that the Committee could request any specific reports they wished to bring forward for their consideration during the course of the year.

RESOLVED

That the content of the report be noted.

To consider any new items of urgent business admitted by the Chair under agenda item 3 above.

There were no new items of urgent business.

The following item is likely to be the subject of a motion to exclude the press and public from the meeting as it contains exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972, paragraph 1; information relating to an individual.

RESOLVED

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for consideration on the following item as it contained exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972, paragraph 1; information relating to an individual.

To approve the exempt minutes of the special meeting of the Committee held on 23 May 2016.

The Committee noted the content of the exempt minutes of the special meeting of the Committee held on 23 May 2016, as outlined by Jacquie McGeachie, Assistant Director, Transformation and Corporate Resources, in particular the names of the individuals appointed to the posts of Assistant Director – Transformation and Resources and Assistant Director – Shared Service centre, and the respective salaries for these posts.

RESOLVED

That the exempt minutes of the special meeting of the Staffing and Remuneration Committee be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider any new items of urgent business admitted under agenda item 3 above.

There were no new items of exempt urgent business.

The Committee noted the agenda for the Standards Committee on Monday 13^th June 2016, which included proposals to amend the terms of reference of the Staffing and Remuneration Committee, prior to these amendments going up to Full Council for approval. Committee Members were invited to contact the Chair of the Standards Committee if they had any comments they wished to make in respect of these proposed changes.

The meeting closed at 8.15pm.