COUNCILLOR Md. ABDUL MUKIT MBE (CHAIR) IN THE CHAIR

The Chair welcomed those present to the first meeting of the Human Resources Committee in the 2011/12 municipal year and, at his request, Members and Officers introduced themselves.

RESOLVED

That Councillor Anna Lynch be elected Vice-Chair of the Human Resources Committee for the 2011/12 municipal year.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Gloria Thienel, for whom Councillor Craig Aston was deputising.

To note any declarations of interest made by Members, including those restricting Members from voting on the questions detailed in Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act, 1992.  See attached note from the Chief Executive.

No declarations of interest were made.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting of the Human Resources Committee held on 30^th November 2009.

RESOLVED

That the unrestricted minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Human Resources Committee, held on 30^th November 2009, be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

RESOLVED

That the Human Resources Committee Terms of Reference, Membership and Quorum for the 2011/12 municipal year, as out in the Committee report, be noted.

To receive a verbal update by the Service Head Human Resources and Organisational Development.

Mr Simon Kilbey, Service Head Human Resources and Workforce Development, gave a detailed presentation which provided an overview of the new restructured service and priorities for the coming 6 to 9 months, including:

• The development of a new people strategy;
• Proactive approaches to retaining employees in times of change (with emphasis on redeployment of displaced staff);
• A programme of action to meet Workforce to Reflect the Community objective, including a talent management framework;
• Continuing to work around smarter working focussing on culture and change management and developing new ways of managing performance.
• Reviewing and developing ways of engaging staff.

Mr Kilbey and Ms Isabella Freeman, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services) responded to Members’ questions relating to the remit of the Committee, in respect of recent appointments to the Council, and the measures the Council could take to establish a workforce to reflect the community.  Mr Kilbey advised that it was a difficult challenge to attract some harder to reach communities such as the Somali community into applying for jobs.  The Council had improved its statistics but was looking at other measures which would address the issue, including the apprenticeship scheme, internships and advertising in underrepresented communities.  The Graduate Scheme had also been successful in the efforts to attract a broad spectrum of talent into the organisation.

In response to Members’ questions regarding the Olympics workforce, Mr Kilbey advised that although beyond his remit, the Service Head Economic Development and Olympic Legacy’s team had been working on the issues and Mr Kilbey would feed Members’ comments into his team.  Ms Freeman advised that much work was being done and suggested that an update could be produced for a future edition of the Members’ Bulletin.

RESOLVED

That the presentation by the Service Head Human Resources and Workforce Development be noted.

In view of the contents of the remaining items on the agenda, the Committee is recommended to adopt the following motion:

“That, under the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government Act, 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act, 1985, the Press and Public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting for the consideration of the Section Two business on the grounds that it contains information defined as Exempt in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government, Act 1972”.

EXEMPT/CONFIDENTIAL SECTION (PINK)

RESOLVED

That, under the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting for the consideration of the Section Two business on the grounds that it contains information defined as Exempt in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972.

SUMMARY OF EXEMPT PROCEEDINGS

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings of the restricted minutes of the meeting of the Human Resources Committee held on 30^th November 2009.

Minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Human Resources Committee meeting held on 30^th November 2009 were agreed.