Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the Meeting of the Chief Officer Employment Committee held on 20 November 2019.

(a)       Chief Officer Employment Committee

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Chief Officer Employment Committee held on 20 November 2019 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point but may also make them at any time during the course of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To resolve that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press 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 paragraphs 1 and  2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Monitoring Officer provided the Committee with brief refresher training in respect of recruitment.

The training focussed on:-

·         the aim for the day;

·         the Committee’s responsibilities, including those in respect of the Equality Act 2010

·         Questioning techniques and styles and the benefits of each

·         Questions to be avoided

·         How the remainder of the Committee Meeting would be held

·         How to record information received during the interview

·         The scoring sheets, scoring criteria, significant importance of note keeping to justify and decision made, and the retention status of score sheets

At the conclusion of the presentation, the Monitoring Officer also advised that the Committee’s decision, constitutionally, did not require ratification from Full Council and therefore any decision made could be implemented with immediate effect.

Note:         At the conclusion of the refresher training, the Monitoring Officer, People and Organisational Development Manager and the Senior Democratic and Civic Officer withdrew from the meeting.

Members were provided with a copy of the Applicant’s Supporting statement and CV, together with the previously agreed Job Description and Person Specification, to assist them in their deliberations.  The presentation topic and process was discussed with Members and it was agreed that there would be an open question session at the end of the candidate’s presentation.

A set of draft questions had been compiled by Jaki Salisbury, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee, sufficient for each Member to be able to ask a question.  These were shared with the Committee and it was agreed who would ask each question. 

The questions had been designed to address and assess key areas of the Job Description and person specification.

Having been given the opportunity to peruse the draft questions and other supporting information the questions were APPROVED.

All Members were provided with appropriate scoring sheets for both the presentation topic and interview questions and reminded of the need to make appropriate notes thereon, in support of any decision they made.

Confirmation was provided that supplementary questioning would be permitted, if considered relevant.

Note:   The Committee formally adjourned at 1.40pm in preparation for the formalinterview commencing at 1.50 pm.

The Committee welcomed the Candidate to the meeting and invited him to make his presentation based on the topic: -

“What is your vision for West Lindsey District Council over the next 5 years?

In order to deliver your vision what would be your priorities for action over the next 3, 6 and 12 months.”

Members posed a number of questions on the presentation.

Members then posed the agreed interview questions to the Candidate and responses were duly received.  Supplementary questioning followed.

The Candidate was thanked for his attendance.

Members shared their views in light of the information the Candidate had provided during the interview.   Question scoring was shared and discussed for each question and the presentation.

Ms Salisbury also provided her professional feedback. 

Having considered all of the information provided by the Candidate and the Candidate’s Statement, and having had a discussion around the level of remuneration the Candidate should be appointed at, it was: -

RESOLVED that:

(a)            the Candidate (Mr Ian Knowles) be appointed to the post of Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service with immediate effect; and

(b)            the Candidate be appointed on a salary range of £112,00 - £125,000 and authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the Committee to determine the commencement salary.

Note:         The Monitoring Officer, the People and Organisational Development Manager and the Senior Democratic and Civic Officer were re-called to the meeting at 4.25pm to formally record the decision passed by the Committee.

Note:         The Candidate was briefly recalled to the meeting, to be advised of the decision.  The offer of appointment was accepted and the Officer was congratulated on his appointment.      

Each individual Member’s scoring sheet was signed off and handed to the People and Organisational Development Manager for retention.