Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room C, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN. View directions

Contact: Andrew Baird  0208 541 7609

Note: The meeting will now commence at 3pm rather than its previously advertised start time of 2pm 

Items
No. Item

1/18

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

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    Minutes:

    None received

2/18

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 13 NOVEMBER 2017 AND 30 NOVEMBER 2017 pdf icon PDF 59 KB

3/18

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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    All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter

     

    (i)         Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or

    (ii)        Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting

     

    NOTES:

     

            Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest

            As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner)

            Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial.

    Minutes:

    There were none.

4/18

QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS

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    To receive any questions or petitions.

     

    Notes:

    1.  The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (23 January 2018).

    2.  The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (22 January 2018).

    3.  The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.

     

     

    Minutes:

    There were none.

5/18

ACTION REVIEW pdf icon PDF 76 KB

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    For Members to consider and comment on the Committee’s actions tracker.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

     

    None

     

    Witnesses:

     

    Ken Akers, Head of HR&OD

    Andrew Baird, Democratic Services Officer

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    None

     

    Actions/ further information to be provided:

     

    None

     

    RESOLVED: That;

     

    The People, Performance and Development Committee noted progress on the implementation of actions from previous meetings.

6/18

Forward Work Programme pdf icon PDF 71 KB

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    For Members to review and comment on the Committee’s Forward Work Programme.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

     

    None

     

    Witnesses:

     

    Ken Akers, Head of HR&OD

    Andrew Baird, Democratic Services Officer

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.     Attention was drawn to the Appraisal Completion Update item which was due to be considered by the People, Performance and Development Committee (PPDC) at its meeting on 14 June 2018. Members stressed that it expected a high percentage of staff appraisals to be completed by the end of the end of May.

     

    Actions/ further information to be provided:

     

    None

     

    RESOLVED: That;

     

    The People, Performance and Development Committee reviewed items that it is due to consider at future meetings.

7/18

Apprenticeship Levy and Public Sector Target Update pdf icon PDF 159 KB

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    This report is being brought to update Members of the People, Performance and Development Committee on the current status and progress to date on meeting the Government’s Apprenticeship Levy and Public Sector Target duties for Surrey County Council.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

     

    None

     

    Witnesses:

     

    Ken Akers, Head of HR&OD

    Joy Hurman, Learning & Development Service Partner

    Simon Griffin, Programme Manager, Schools and Learning

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.     The report was introduced by officers who informed the Committee that there had been a reduction in the level of underspend projected against SCC’s required contribution to the Apprenticeship Levy as outlined in Annex 3 to the report. Members were advised that the Council’s forecast spend on apprenticeship qualifications was estimated to be approximately £900k against a mandatory contribution of £1.2m which meant there was a shortfall of £300k.

     

    2.     Members heard that schools across the country had been struggling to deliver apprenticeships against their required contribution to the Levy. This was mirrored in Surrey where it was predicted that schools would have a significant deficit in spending against the £840k that they had collectively been required to contribute to the Levy. Officers highlighted that there was a shortage of apprenticeship qualifications that were relevant to schools although it was anticipated that the introduction of new qualifications over time would grow interest in apprenticeship qualifications and reduce underspend against schools’ contribution to the Levy.

     

    3.     The Committee articulated their concerns that money put into the Levy that was not spent by the Council would be retained by the Government and highlighted the importance of ensuring that this money was used on upskilling SCC and schools’ staff. Further clarity was sought on what steps were being taken to increase spending on apprenticeships made available through the Levy. Officers stated that a range of measures had been introduced in a bid to boost spending by schools on apprenticeships. The main obstacle, however, was a dearth of good qualifications although a number of new programmes would be introduced in September 2018 which would improve the range and quality of available courses. Members were informed that officers aimed to ensure that schools are in a position to take advantage of these new qualifications when they became available.

     

    4.     Further clarity was sought on Annex 2 and the Committee asked how the allocations for the number of apprenticeships within each Directorate was calculated. Members were advised that the figures were allocated based on headcount although strategic directors were told not to pay too much about the figure as there were some Directorates that would be able to fill more apprenticeship positions than others. The Committee heard that Adult Social Care (ASC) spending in this area would be bolstered by the introduction of specific Social Work and Occupational Therapy apprenticeships.

     

    5.     The Committee asked how SCC was promoting apprenticeships among young people. They heard that careers events and advice were an effective way of getting through to young people. Officers further highlighted the importance of getting Ofsted to recognise that the number of apprenticeship placements taken up by former students was as much a mark of success as the number of university places schools received among former pupils. Members requested that the next update received  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7/18

8/18

Grievance of Policy Review and Addition to Safer Employment and DBS Policy pdf icon PDF 90 KB

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    The People, Performance and Development Committee is asked to consider and endorse a number of proposed modifications to Surrey County Council’s Grievance Policy and Procedure which includes renaming it to the ‘Grievance Resolution Policy and Procedure’ (Annex 1) as well as noting an addition to the Safer Employment and DBS Policy of the Council (Annex 2).

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

     

    None

     

    Witnesses:

     

    Ken Akers, Head of HR&OD

    Prodromos Mavridis, Senior HR Adviser (Policy)

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.     Attention was drawn to paragraph 4.2.2 of the Grievance Resolution Policy and Procedure attached as Annex 1 to the report. Members asked whether it was appropriate that formal grievances raised by chief officers within the Council should be referred to the Monitoring Officer and asked whether there should be a formal role for PPDC as the Committee responsible for employing chief officers. Officers were asked to amend the Policy to include a formal role for PPDC in processing grievances made by chief officers within the Council for approval at a future meeting of the Committee.

     

    Actions/ further information to be provided:

     

    1.     Surrey County Council’s Grievance Policy to be amended to incorporate a formal role for PPDC in reviewing formal grievances raised by SCC chief officers and brought back to future meeting of the Committee (Action Ref: A2/18)

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    The People, Performance and Development Committee;

     

    i.       agreed that Surrey County Council’s Grievance Policy should be amended to incorporate a formal role for PPDC in reviewing formal grievances raised by SCC chief officers and brought back to a future meeting of the Committee; and

     

    ii.      noted an addition to the Safer Employment and DBS Policy of the Council to codify a statutory obligation under the Childcare Act 2006.

     

     

9/18

Ending Employment Policy and Dying to Work Charter pdf icon PDF 82 KB

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    The People, Performance and Development Committee is asked to consider and endorse the consolidation of a number of policies relating to the termination of employment relationships between Surrey County Council and its officers into a single document incorporating a reference to the ‘Dying to Work Charter’ which the Council aims to sign in due course.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

     

    None

     

    Witnesses:

     

    Ken Akers, Head of HR& OD

    Prodromos Mavridis, Senior HR Adviser (Policy)

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.     Committee Members highlighted concerns around the Council’s Ending Employment Policy in particular highlighting that it needed to be clearer on SCC’s approach to those found to have committed fraud. Officers were asked to amend the Policy to clearer state that those who committed fraud against the Council would be summarily dismissed and that steps would be made to claw back any money out of which SCC had been defrauded by the employee.

     

    2.     Further clarity was sought on governance arrangements for agreeing redundancy for strategic directors and other senior officers. Members asked whether this was the role of the Severance Review Group or if the responsibility sat elsewhere.

     

    Actions/ further information to be provided:

     

    Members requested that the Ending Employment Policy should be brought back to the People, Performance and Development Committee on 8 March 2018 with the following amendments:

     

    a)     policy should be amended to state that the Council will summarily dismiss Members of staff who have defrauded the Council and that SCC will seek to clawback any additional money paid to staff members as part arising from this policy which were seen to defraud the Council;

    b)     references in the Policy to SCC’s ‘Corporate Director’ should be amended to ‘Strategic Director’.

    c)     clarity to be provided within the Policy in regard to application of the policy in respect of Strategic Directors and officers on high pay grades where it may not be appropriate for this to be agreed by the Severance Review Group. (Action Ref: A3/18).

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    The People, Performance and Development Committee:

     

    i.       agreed that Members the amended Ending Employment Policy be brought back to the People, Performance and Development Committee at its meeting 8 March 2018; and

     

    ii.      agreed in principle with an officer recommendation for the Council to sign up to the Dying to Work Charter in order to codify a commitment to support Council officers who are diagnosed with terminal illness. A template copy of the Charter can be found as Annex 2 to this document.

     

10/18

Policy Statement on voice recording of HR meetings pdf icon PDF 82 KB

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    The People, Performance and Development Committee is asked to consider a proposal for Surrey County Council (SCC) to adopt a formal policy statement codifying a facility for employees to request permission to use audio recording devices at formal meetings which take place under the provisions of its employment procedures. This proposal has originated from the [then] Head of Paid Service and senior management within the Council who have asked officers in the Human Resources & Organisational Development Service to consider a potential solution following reports of staff requesting to record meetings.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

     

    None

     

    Witnesses:

     

    Ken Akers, Head of HR & OD

    Prodromos Mavridis, Senior HR Adviser (Policy)

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.     Members discussed the Policy Statement on Voice Recording HR Meetings which had been amended following consideration at PPDC’s meeting on 30 November 2017. The Committee detailed changes which had been requested to the Policy at this meeting and emphasised that staff should not be allowed to voice record formal HR meetings. Rather the Council should have the facility to enable them to record the meeting where appropriate to do so and a copy of the tape then given to the employee. The Committee asked officers to amend the Policy accordingly and bring it back to the PPDC meeting on 8 March 2018.

     

    Actions/ further information to be provided:

     

    1.     Members agreed that provision within the Policy allowing Members of staff to record HR meetings should be removed. The amended Policy should be brought back to the People, Performance and Development Committee’s next meeting on 8 March 2018 for approval (Action Ref: A4/18).

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    The People, Performance and Development Committee agreed that the amended Policy Statement on voice recording HR Meetings should be brought back to the Committee’s meeting on 8 March 2018.

11/18

Human Resources & Organisational Development Strategy Measures 2017-2019 pdf icon PDF 94 KB

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    This report provides the People, Performance and Development Committee with a summary of the results from the 2017 Staff Survey. This is the third Surrey County Council staff survey undertaken by Best Companies and includes helpful comparison data to the previous two years of engagement results. 

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

     

    None

     

    Witnesses:

     

    Ken Akers, Head of HR & OD

    Debbie Bala, Senior HR Adviser

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.     The report was introduced by officers who highlighted that the HR Team was trying to improve the clarity and accuracy staffing data. Attention was drawn to a lack of clarity over the number of staff that SCC employs highlighting that this information should be evident from the number of pay slips issued by the Council. Members were informed that the indicators outlined within the report would help SCC to get more meaningful data on its workforce which would inform and influence the future structure of the organisation. The Committee also heard that improved use of granular data that was already available to the Council would highlight how it was performing against the agreed HR&OD Strategy.

     

    2.     The Committee suggested that the strategy indicators should be made available to all County Councillors for their reference and asked officers to investigate whether it could be added to the Members’ Portal.

     

    Actions/ further information to be provided:

     

    1.     Officers to investigate the possibility to make the HR & OD Strategy Indicators available through the Members’ Portal (Action Ref: A5/18).

     

    RESOLVED: That;

     

    The People, Performance and Development Committee:

     

    i.       reviewed and commented on Surrey County Council’s Human Resources & Organisational Development Strategy data reports developed so far; and

    ii.      agreed to receive six monthly reports to review progress against these data reports.

     

12/18

2017 Staff Survey Results pdf icon PDF 340 KB

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    This report provides the People, Performance and Development Committee with a summary of the results from the 2017 Staff Survey. This is the third Surrey County Council staff survey undertaken by Best Companies and includes helpful comparison data to the previous two years of engagement results. 

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

     

    None

     

    Witnesses:

     

    Ken Akers, Head of HR& OD

    Rachel Crossley, Chief of Staff

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1. The report was introduced by SCC’s Chief of Staff who advised Members that the report being considered by the Committee was based on early analysis of the 2017 Staff Survey results. She highlighted that the response rate was higher than what would normally be expected of a public sector organisation and provided an overview of the areas where the Council’s results were highest, stating that SCC had scored well against the ‘Wellbeing’, ‘My Manager’ and ‘My Team’ categories. The Committee heard that the majority of services had seen their results decline when compared to the outcomes of the Staff Survey conducted in 2016 with the ‘Leadership’ and ‘Fair Deal’ categories continuing to score below other factors.

     

    1. The Committee sought clarity on why the response rate from staff within Surrey Fire & Rescue Service was so low. They were informed that the survey was fully electronic for the Fire Service this year and some officers may still prefer not to use online systems.  .

     

    1. Members expressed disappointment that there hadn’t been an improvement in any of the categories and highlighted that this was particularly concerning in relation to ‘Fair Deal’ given the amount of work which officers had done to implement the revised pay and reward offer. The Committee heard that the financial challenges facing the Council prevent it from implementing a significant pay award and negotiations meant that the pay award was implemented later than staff were anticipating. This has been compounded by the high rate of inflation at the time that the Staff Survey was in circulation as well as the national debate around restraints on public sector pay. The Head of HR&OD suggested that SCC should promote its Mybenefits offer for staff more effectively. Members were advised that comments made in the Survey were in the process of being collated which would allow officers to pick out key themes in relation to staff concerns.

     

    1. The Committee heard that 2017 was the last of the three staff surveys that SCC had contracted Best Companies to deliver. As such, officers were considering the future of the Staff Survey and how SCC gathered the views of its staff. Members stressed the importance of maintaining staff morale given possible future redundancies across the organisations and that the survey demonstrated that staff were less satisfied than they had been the previous year. The Chief of Staff acknowledged increased anxiety among staff given the financial challenges facing SCC.

     

    Actions/ further information to be provided:

     

    None

     

    RESOLVED: That;

     

    the People, Performance and Development Committee noted the results of the 2017 Surrey County Council Staff Survey

     

13/18

EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

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    Recommendation: That under Section 100(A) 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 under the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

     

     

     

     

    PART TWO – IN PRIVATE

    Minutes:

    RESOLVED: That under Section 100(A) 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 under the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

14/18

Updated Report on Organisational Change and its Impact

    To provide the People, Performance and Development Committee with an updated report outlining the major staffing changes that have taken place over the last two financial years (2016/17 and 2017/18 to date) and the major changes currently being planned or implemented. To show what impact each of these changes has had, including what impact they have had on the size of the organisation in relation to staffing numbers and what action is being taken to mitigate the impact of changes on staff morale.

     

Minutes:

Declarations of interest:

 

None

 

Witnesses:

 

Ken Akers, Head of HR&OD

Jo Donoghue, Strategic Business Partner

 

Key points raised during the discussion:

 

None

 

Actions/ further information to be provided:

 

None

 

RESOLVED: That;

 

the People, Performance and Development Committee noted the content of this report.

15/18

Pay Policy Exceptions - January 2018

    The purpose of this paper is to highlight decisions taken and recommendations on pay that fall outside the published Pay Policy Statement.

     

    This report includes a range of pay exceptions and staff related decisions that require decision.

     

Minutes:

Declarations of interest:

 

None

 

Witnesses:

 

Ken Akers, Head of HR&OD

 

 

Key points raised during the discussion:

 

None

 

Actions/ further information to be provided:

 

None

 

RESOLVED:

 

The Committee approved the recommendations as set out in the confidential minutes.

 

 

16/18

Impact of National Living Wage on Sleeping-in Shift Payments

    In April 2017 an employment appeals tribunal found that the national living wage (NLW) and national minimum wage (NMW) should have been paid for hours worked during a sleep-in shift.

     

    This report summaries information relating to the following areas:

     

    ·        Surrey County Council’s (SCC) response to the above ruling, together with the potential impact on staff

     

    ·        action taken by SCC managers to date

     

    ·        potential risks and cost impact for SCC

     

    ·        recommended action

     

Minutes:

Declarations of interest:

 

None

 

Witnesses:

 

Ken Akers, Head of HR&OD

 

 

Key points raised during the discussion:

 

The report was introduced by officers. The Committee asked a number of questions which were responded to by the officers present before moving to recommendations.

 

Actions/ further information to be provided:

 

None

 

RESOLVED:

 

The Committee approved the recommendations as set out in the confidential minutes.

 

 

17/18

PUBLICITY OF PART 2 ITEMS

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    To consider whether the item considered under Part 2 of the agenda should be made available to the press and public.

    Minutes:

    It was agreed that information related to Part 2 items discussed at the meeting would remain exempt.

18/18

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

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    The next meeting of People, Performance and Development Committee will be on 8 March 2018.

    Minutes:

    The Committee noted that its next meeting would be held on 8 March 2018