Agenda and draft minutes

To Approve and Sign as a Correct Record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Chief Officer Employment Committee held on 7 January 2025.

Having been proposed and seconded, on being put to the vote it was: -

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Chief Officer Employment Committee held on 7 January 2025 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 at this point in the meeting

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 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.

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 items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Chairman proposed that the order of the agenda be varied, taking the exempt reports in the opposite order to the published agenda.  The Committee indicated their consent, and, on that basis, it was

RESOLVED that the order of the agenda be varied with agenda item 5(b) be taken prior to agenda item 5(a).

Proposed draft timetable and verbal update from the People Services Manager.

The People Services Manager updated Committee briefly on progress in the recruitment of a Director of Finance and Assets and Section 151 Officer.

Members were advised of the work undertaken by the consultants to-date, the number of candidates approached, those places where the advert had been posted and of the current S151 market and potential barriers to recruitment following feedback from those approached via the consultant.

Having heard of the barriers, direction was sought from the Committee as to whether they wished to extend the deadline for applications.  Following brief discussion, noting the consultant’s recommendation and the nature of the barriers, the Committee indicated an extension would not overcome two of those matters raised.  

At the request of a Member the Chairman outlined why the chosen recruitment agency had been selected.

It was also suggested and accepted that any movement on salary should be considered only once Members had interviewed candidates.

On that basis it was RESOLVED that:

(a)    the feedback provided during the recruitment advertising to- date be noted;

(b)    the closing date not be extended; and

(c)    the timetable be noted, with Committee next meeting on 31 March for interviews and a decision.

Following the recent resignation of the Chief Executive and feedback provided by the Peer Challenge in January 2025, Members considered a report which requested Members choose a preferred solution for the recruitment of a Chief Executive/Head of Paid Service,

The report also requested that Members provide a steer to Officers regarding the options Members would like further detail upon to ensure the statutory requirement to have a Head of Paid Service was complied with on 1 July 2025 onwards.   It was stressed to the Committee that all of the interim options would require further consultation and discussion, and as such the report was seeking an initial steer as to which option should be further explored.

Finally, Members were asked to consider a request to recruit to the Director of Operations and Commercial post, pending a full review of the Senior Management team.

Debate ensued with the Committee initially focussing on the request for an Interim Director of Operations and Commercial Services. There was lengthy and very robust discussion, on the need for this post and whether an alternative approach could be considered with a number of suggestions made.

Some Committee Members suggested permanent recruitment should be undertaken and that the services in the portfolio should be re-organised.  Some sought to understand whether there was internal candidate that could step-up for an interim period particularly in respect of the waste function. A large number of Members were concerned at the cost of an interim solution and that the interim solution could in fact end up being a 12 month period.

In responding to Members’ comments, Officers reminded the Committee that they were charged with appointing Chief Officers only, and changes to services portfolios would need to be looked at holistically as part of a wider restructure, as they would impact other posts and require consultation.  Any interim solution could only be appointed on like for like basis, at this stage.   

Members continued to debate a number of scenarios and discussed why such a situation had arisen.

With continued concerns about how costs could escalate, the Committee were advised that they could consider a part time interim and could express a maximum time limit for an interim arrangement to be in place.

With the Committee acknowledging the real time impact the post being vacant was having, it was acknowledged that a short term, quick resolution was required, despite the reservations. However, Members indicated their requirement for potential candidates to be waste specialists, procured on a 3–4-day week basis, for a maximum period of 6 months.  Furthermore, there would be a requirement for the selected candidate to be present on site and hands on.

In light of the suggestions made during the discussion which could not be pursued and concerns expressed, the Committee were of the view that the need for a complete senior management structure was becoming more pressing.

It was proposed and seconded that the Chief Executive be requested to prepare options as to how any final structure may look and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.