Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Creamer with Councillor G Pope acting as his substitute.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the above meeting, having been circulated, be deferred until the next available committee.

None.

Report of the Assistant Director - Development

The Assistant Director for Development introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, to provide an update to Joint Consultative and Safety Committee on the recent Building Control Audit and recommendations and Building Control service provision within the Borough.

RESOLVED to:

1)    Note the contents of the report.

Report of Health, Safety and Emergency Planning Manager

The Health, Safety & Emergency Planning Manager introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, which sought to provide an update on the council health and safety compliance in line with legislation.

RESOLVED to:

1)    Agree the Corporate Health and Safety Annual Report 2025/26.

None.

To move that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the ensuing reports on the grounds that the reports involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972

Committee agreed that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the ensuing reports on the grounds that the reports involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Chief Finance and Section 151 Officer introduced a report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, to present the proposed Financial Services restructure to the Joint Consultative and Safety Committee following consultation with affected employees and trade unions, and to seek JCSC’s approval of the proposed changes and formal closure of the consultation process.

The restructure will provide the capacity, resilience, technical expertise and segregation of duties required for the Council to meet its statutory financial responsibilities and progress the financial planning, due diligence, systems, data and transition work arising from Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). Following consideration by JCSC, the proposal will be submitted to the Head of Paid Service for final approval and sign-off before implementation.

RESOLVED to:

1)    Approve the proposed changes to the Financial Services structure, as set out in this report.

2)    Formally close the consultation process, having considered the feedback received from affected employees.

3)    Recommend that the Head of Paid Service give final approval and sign-off to the proposed Financial Services restructure, enabling implementation in accordance with Council policies.

The Assistant Director of Workforce introduced a report, which had been circulated prior to the meeting, to ask committee to close the consultation process on the proposed various changes to policies which are being made to improve their application in how they work in practice and to close gaps on any weak areas to assist the Council to remain compliant and effective in handling people issues.

RESOLVED That:

The Joint Consultative and Safety Committee considered the changes below and provided comments for the Appointments and Conditions of Service.

The policies changes are:

1)    DBS Policy - changes made at Section 8 of the policy and to the ‘Managing an Adverse Disclosure form’ at Appendix 1.

2)    Company References – revised approach for completion

3)    Personal Relationships – new policy for consideration

4)    Equality Policy – amended to include points from the Equality Action for a ‘Zero Tolerance Policy on discrimination, mandatory reporting of suspected discrimination and mandatory completion of EDI training.

The Assistant Director of Workforce introduced a report, which had been circulated prior to the meeting, to consider the proposed changes to the contract of employment for staff, considering feedback received and provide any comments for the Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee to consider in their final approval.

RESOLVED that:

The Joint Consultative and Safety Committee to considered feedback on the contract changes which include:

1)    Introduction of Pay In Lieu of Notice clause

2)    Introduction of Garden Leave clause

3)    Additional wording to support early termination of temporary contracts

4)    The acceptance of minor changes to include legislative updates and removal of reference to a ‘full statement’ and instead signposting of policies that can be found in the Staff Handbook.