Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were received.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Blank and Simmons.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 9 September, 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Electoral Services Manager submitted a report on the statutory review of polling places and polling districts.

Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, the Council has a duty to review parliamentary polling districts and places within a period of 16 months beginning with 1 October, 2013 and every fifth year thereafter. The last review was conducted in 2014 and therefore the next must completed by January 2020.

The officer’s report included details of the consultation process which had been carried out.

Returning Officers are required to have regard for accessibility issues for people with disabilities when designating polling places. All of the premises used for polling places in the Borough are accessible ‘so far as is reasonable and practicable’.

*RESOLVED –

1.   That the proposals arising from the 2019 review of polling places and polling districts detailed in Appendix A of the officer’s report be approved.

2.   That the Returning Officer be authorised to designate alternative polling places for those where there are issues should this be possible.

REASON FOR DECISION –

To comply with the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013.

The HR and Support Services Manager submitted a report seeking approval for the chosen Christmas and New Year 2019/20 discretionary day.

At Council Minute No.577 (2001/2002) it was resolved that the discretionary day for Christmas and New Year would be decided each January for that year. At the January 2004 Council Joint Consultative Committee it was resolved that the Christmas and New Year discretionary day would be decided at the preceding years October Council Joint Consultative Committee. Following the decision to disband the Council Joint Consultative Committee in 2016 this decision would be made by the Employment and General Committee.

The three options for the discretionary day were outlined as:-

·        Tuesday 24 December, 2019;

·        Friday 27 December, 2019;

·        Tuesday 31 December, 2019.

A staff poll had been conducted on the council intranet and over 76% of respondents expressed a preference for Friday 27 December, 2019.

*RESOLVED –

That the Christmas and New Year 2019/2020 discretionary day be approved as 27 December, 2019 for all staff.

The HR and Support Services Manager submitted a report to provide an overview of performance against the Council’s Human Resources key performance measures.

The HR Team was transferred from the Arvato Public Private Partnership to in-house service delivery in October 2018.

The HR team was restructured and merged with the Council’s support services function. The HR team was strengthened to include three new HR Business Partner roles and a new Learning and Development Business Partner role. The restructure aimed to enable the HR team to deliver a proactive service and can better meet individual needs of service areas. 

The report outlined the strategic activities carried out by the HR and Support Services team during the financial year 2018/19 and plans for 2019/20.

RESOLVED –

That the report be noted and future actions endorsed.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Council Health and Safety Committee held on 21 August, 2019 were submitted.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes be received and noted.