Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the Resources and Performance Panel held on 23 February 2016 (previously circulated).

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Panel held on 23 February 2016 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is disclosed.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

In relation to item 12, Councillor Collop declared that he occasionally worked with a Member of the Allowances Panel.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chairman proposes to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There was none.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chairman of their intention to do so an on what items they wish to be heard before the meeting commences.  Any Member attending the meeting under Standing Order 34 will only be permitted to speak on those items which have been previously notified to the Chairman.

·        Councillor Mrs K Mellish for items RP136 and RP137.

·        Councillor J Moriarty for items RP136 and RP137.

·        Councillor M Chenery for items RP134 and RP137

·        Councillor Mrs C Bower for item RP133.

There was none.

To receive comments and recommendations from other Council bodies, and any responses subsequent to recommendations, which this Panel has previously made.  (N.B.  some of the relevant Council bodies may meet after dispatch of the agenda).

There was none.

To consider passing the following resolution:

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public 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, 2 and 3 of the Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

RESOLVED:   That under Section 100(a)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public 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, 2 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

The Panel will receive an interim report on Hunstanton Sailing Club.

RETURN TO OPEN SESSION

The Panel received an interim report on Hunstanton Sailing Club from Councillor P Hodson.

In accordance with Standing Order 34, Councillor Mrs Bower stated that the club previously used to put on a youth week in the summer however that had not happened.  In response, the Regeneration Project Officer explained that there were health and safety restrictions that the club needed to comply with and this was to be addressed later this year. 

Councillor Beales, Portfolio Holder thanked the Committee for their input into the scheme and to Councillor Hodson for the presentation.

- RETURN TO OPEN SESSION -

The Panel is invited to consider the report and make any appropriate recommendations to Cabinet.

The Personnel Services Manager introduced a report which outlined changes to the corporate Child Protection Policy.  The report explained that the policy had been in place since 2007 and had been revised to reflect current practice and developments which had evolved during the intervening period.  The Policy was designed to ensure the Council met its responsibilities and safeguarded children and young people from potential harm and abuse, as well as protecting itself, its staff and elected members.

The Personnel Services Manager outlined the key changes within the revision as follows:

·        Updates to reflect changes as a result of the new arrangements in leisure and arts;

·        More prominent display of information relating to the Council’s child protection co-ordinator, and deputy.

·        A new section outlining the Council’s corporate responsibilities (section 1.3 of the policy) and service specific responsibilities (section 1.4 of the policy).

·        An updated diagram to summarise the basic response procedure if an employee or Elected Member needs to raise a concern (section 6.2 of the policy);

·        General updating of the section relating to recruitment and retention of staff (section 8 of the policy) to reflect changes in practice and to reflect the requirements of the Disclosure and Barring Service (including updating appendices F and G).

It was reported that once adopted, the revised policy would be communicated to staff.  An on-going programme of child protection training was already in place, and this would be revised to include refresher training on a three yearly basis, in accordance with recommended best practice.  The refresher training would include a session specifically covering the Council’s Child Protection Policy.

Councillor Devereux stated that it was a comprehensive policy and the failure to prevent abuse did put a big responsibility on elected members.  He referred to Appendix G on page 42 of the agenda - Policy Statement on the Secure Storage, Handling, Use, Retention and Disposal of Disclosures and Disclosure Information, and stated that there appeared to be a mismatch between the heading and content.

The Personnel Services Manager explained that it was a template provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service.  The Chief Executive added that it could be supplemented with further clarification but could not be replaced.

The Chairman referred to the summary on page 6, where reference had been made to the policy protecting the authority and elected members and suggested that this should also include volunteers and contractors.  He also stated that the policy referred to how staff could report concerns but not elected members.

In response, the Personnel Services Manager explained that the procedure applied to staff, elected members and volunteers.

The Chairman made reference to two typographical errors within the report:

1.4 – page 16 should read ‘where there are no specific processes in place …’

1.2 – page 15 should read ‘ensuring where appropriate, contractors and funded organisations have child protection policies and procedures in place.’

In accordance with Standing Order 34, Councillor Chenery referred to dietary needs and asked if this could also be taken into account.

In  ...  view the full minutes text for item RP134

The Panel is invited to consider the report and make any appropriate recommendations to Cabinet.

The Personnel Services Manager introduced the report and explained that the Council’s annual pay increase for all employees was locally determined, having regard to national pay and labour market information.  The overall context for the 2016/17 Pay Award was a continuation of the Government’s 1% target for public sector pay alongside a gradual increase in the overall level of pay settlements within the economy as a whole and the Government’s target of increasing the Living Wage to 60% of median earnings by 2020.  The report also detailed the pay increases over the past 5 years.

The report recommended the pay increase for 2016/17 and outlined the budget implications.

The Personnel Services Manager advised that the Joint Employee Committee was due to meet on 23 March 2016 where it was usual for the Trade Unions to submit their comments to the JEC Meeting and Cabinet.

Councillor Devereux asked whether the 1% pay award was an increase in the payroll bill or a 1% increase in rates of pay for staff. 

The Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources explained that it was a 1% increase in pay rates, and was the point of where the pay bill was settled within the Financial Plan.

Councillor Collop referred to the expected National Living Wage in 2020, and stated that no-one could predict what was going to happen in 2020 and considered that the 1% increase did not take the Authority too much further in what it was trying to achieve.  He was also disappointed that the Trade Union comments were not available.

The Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources explained that increase was linked to legislation which had to be complied with.  He added that the informal comments from the Trade Union were encouraging.  The proposal would be of assistance to lower graded employees and would offer the opportunity within those grades for faster promotion.  He considered that the proposal was something that the Authority should be proud of.

The Personnel Services Manager advised that the 1% was applied to all staff and in addition the Authority would continue to match the bottom point of PG13 to the lowest point on the National pay scales, which would start the process of moving towards the expected level of the Living Wage by 2020.

RESOLVED:   That the Panel supported the recommendation to Cabinet as set out below:

1.         That an annual pay award of 1% be implemented with effect from 1^st April 2016.

2.         That the Authority continues its practice of matching the bottom point of PG13 to the lowest point on the National pay scales.  This will start the process of moving towards the expected level of the Living Wage by 2020.

3.         That discussions are held with recognised Trade Unions prior to the April 2017 pay award, to identify ways of fairly and affordably meeting the longer term Government target for the National Living Wage to equate to 60% of median earnings by 2020.

The Panel is invited to consider the report and make any appropriate recommendations to Cabinet.

The Chairman introduced Mr Mike Press, who had taken part in the Members Allowance Review to present the report on behalf of the Panel.

It was explained that all Local Authorities must have regard to the recommendations of their Independent Panel before making decisions on the Member’s Allowances Scheme.

The Independent Panel for the current year was made up of the following members:

·         Mark Palmer, South East Employers Organisation

·         David Dixon, Media Representative

·         Mike Press, Community Representative.

Mr Press drew attention to paragraph 5.4 of the report and the view of the Panel that being a Councillor was not a job.

Mr Press explained that the Panel was keen to see the Basic Allowance linked to a formula that was robust, fair and transparent, and he outlined the formula which had been agreed.  The Panel recommended that from next year the Basic Allowance be increased in line with staff annual percentage salary increases.

In relation to section 6.6 of the report, Mr Press explained that it had been recommended to increase the allowance to the Chairman of the Planning Committee, due to the heavy workload of the Committee. 

Reference was made to item 7 of the report in particular to the Carers Allowance which was recommended to be £35.00 per hour for qualified Agency Care.  This should also be reflected in the summary on page 66 which referred to £30.00 per hour.

The Chairman then invited Councillor Mrs Mellish to address the Panel in accordance with Standing Order 34.  Councillor Mrs Mellish stated that she was one of the people who had been interviewed and had completed a questionnaire, and whilst she was happy with most of the report, she was concerned about the increase in allowance for the Chairman of the Planning Committee and the decrease for the Licensing Committee Chairman.

She acknowledged that the Chairman of the Planning Committee did go out and visit and the sites before the meeting, but considered that 40% of the Leaders Allowance was more than what the Mayor received who attended functions on a daily basis

She understood that the Planning Committee did have to sit for long hours and the agendas had to be read and understood, and asked why all Planning Committee members could not receive an attendance allowance for being part of the meeting.

The Chairman then invited Councillor Moriarty to address the Committee in accordance with Standing Order 34.  Councillor Moriarty stated that the Panel had worked scientifically and thoroughly.  He stated that there was a danger that the Council could be accused of increasing Council Tax and increase allowances.  He stated that this report should be tied in with the next report on Scrutiny Structures and Policy Development.  He queried the role of the Assistant to the Leader which was introduced when the Council was opposing the incinerator.

Under Standing Order 34, Councillor Mrs Mellish stated that the Chairman of the Planning Committee would be getting 5% less than a Cabinet Member, and could not understand why  ...  view the full minutes text for item RP136

The Panel is invited to consider the report and make any appropriate recommendations to Cabinet.

The Chief Executive presented the interim conclusions of the Scrutiny Structures and Policy Development Task Group in response to the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) report and the feedback from the Member workshop held on 8 October 2015.

The report made a number of recommendations to Cabinet and Council, which sought to implement the principle recommendation of the CfPS report with effect from the beginning of the municipal year 2016/17.

In accordance with Standing Order 34, Councillor Moriarty stated that he felt that training for members was very important prior to the new arrangements being implemented.  He added that he had raised concern in the past about Cabinet Members being present at Panel meetings.  He also raised concern that if the minutes were too succinct then you would not be able to get a flavour of the debate.

The Chairman then invited Councillor Mrs Mellish to address the Committee in accordance with Standing Order 34.  Councillor Mrs Mellish stated that she was pleased with the report from the Task Group.  She added that as a Chairman of a Panel, she did not consider that the Forward Decision List did hamper items being brought to the Panel.  She referred to the fact that the Panels would act as a critical friend to the Portfolio Holder, however she had concerns that this could hamper the Panel acting in a scrutiny capacity.

Councillor Middleton referred to recommendation 6, that the Panels elected their own Chairman and Vice-Chairman and explained to the Panel that he did not agree with this.  He considered that it was important that the Leader still had the right to choose a competent Chairman who had knowledge in that role.  He also referred to recommendation 12, and stated that he agreed that each member of the Panel should be allowed to place an item on the agenda but felt that they should speak to the Chairman first.

Councillor Mrs Mellish added that she always offered members of the R&D Panel the opportunity of having items placed on the agenda.

Councillor Collop stated that that he was a member of the Task Group.  He expressed concern in relation to the opposition parties not being involved in the process.  He referred to members being able to put an item on the agenda, but expressed concern that there was nothing to say that this would be taken forward for discussion.  He considered that the opposition leader had been cut out of anything being taken forward.  He added that if the position of Vice-Chairman of the Corporate Performance Panel was given to a member of the opposition groups this would give an opportunity for them to be involved when the agendas were set. 

Councillor Collop concluded that if the recommendations went forward as proposed there would be no reason for himself or his party to attend meetings.

The Chairman explained that there had been an earlier item on the agenda, which had been requested by Councillor Collop.  He added that if  ...  view the full minutes text for item RP137

Members re invited to discuss any future training opportunities that they might find useful.

Councillor Moriarty had suggested earlier in the meeting that Members should receive scrutiny training.

Work Programme 2016/2017

19 April 2016

No scheduled items, only any Cabinet reports to be identified from the Forward Decisions List.

If Council adopt the review of scrutiny arrangements on 28 April 2016, a work programme for the proposed Corporate Performance Panel will be drafted.

The Panel noted the Work  Programme for 2016/2017 and the Forward Decisions List.

To note that the next meeting of the Resources and Performance Panel will take place on Tuesday 19 April 2016 at 6 pm in the Committee Suite, King’s Court, Chapel Street, King’s Lynn.

The next meeting of the Committee would be held on Tuesday 19 April 2016.