Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor Ludlow declared an interest in Agenda Item 8 (A Review of the Careline and Support Service) as a relative of an employee of Careline and Support Services, she withdrew from the meeting for that item.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Dickinson and Serjeant.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Joint Cabinet and Employment and General Committee on 15 December, 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To move “That under Regulation 21(1)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements)(Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2000, the public 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 the following Paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.”

RESOLVED –

That under Regulation 21 (1)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements)(Access to Information)(England) Regulations 2000, the public 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 the following Paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 – Paragraphs 1, 3 and 4, on the grounds that it contained information relating to individuals, financial and business affairs and to consultations or negotiations in connection with any labour relations matter arising between the authority and employees of the authority.

*RESOLVED –

(1)         That a new CCTV staffing rota be implemented as soon as possible.

(2)         That two annualised hours CCTV operator posts (800 hours per annum) be established to assist with the delivery of the service.

(3)         That the effectiveness of the new staff arrangements be reviewed after a 12 month period of operation.

(4)         That the recommendations contained within the technical feasibility report relating to existing cameras and connectivity, as outlined in paragraph 10.14 of the officer’s report, be implemented by the Parking and CCTV Manager with the planned programme of improvements to the CCTV infrastructure.

(5)         That the existing CCTV recording and control equipment and management software be replaced by an open protocol system.

(6)         That a competitive tendering process, financed from the service’ repairs and renewals fund, takes place to procure the open protocol system and be timed to coincide with the Town Hall restack.

(7)         That the CCTV monitoring room and associated offices be relocated from 87 New Square to the Town Hall basement, in accordance with the timetable for the Town Hall restack.

(8)         That the purchase of all equipment be subject to a competitive tendering process with the associated costs to be met from the service’s repairs and renewals fund, and the GPGS project budget.

The Town Centre Operations Manager submitted a report recommending for approval new staffing arrangements for the CCTV service, the procurement of new CCTV equipment and the relocation of the CCTV service to the Town Hall basement.

The changes to staffing outlined in the report would see all current CCTV Operators keep their current hours. However, to reflect the needs of the service there would be a requirement for staff to work proportionately more shifts at the weekends. It was proposed to create two CCTV Operator posts on annualised contracts of 800 hours to provide necessary cover for holidays, sickness and training. The staffing efficiencies would result in a saving of £46,210.

The Council appointed Wired-Up Security Solutions in April 2015 to carry out an independent technical feasibility study on the existing CCTV infrastructure. The report proposed to install an open protocol system which would easily integrate with third party CCTV software, utilising separate software for CCTV management and back office reporting functions. The estimated cost of the system was £75k to £92k.

The building at 87 New Square where the service is currently housed had been identified by the Council’s Corporate Asset Management Plan as suitable for sale and could realise a capital receipt of around £250k. The report noted that by re-locating the CCTV Service to the Town Hall, it would benefit from being at one of the highest points in the town and have access to wireless equipment related to the CCTV system. The estimated budgetary price for relocating the service would be £95k to £110k.

The report noted that if the proposals in the report were implemented there would be a potential to earn additional income as the CCTV service would be operated to a high standard and in close partnership with the police providing assurance to new businesses.

*RESOLVED –

1)           That a new CCTV staffing rota be implemented as soon as possible.

2)           That two annualised hours CCTV operator posts (800 hours per annum) be established to assist with the delivery of the service.

3)           That the effectiveness of the new staff arrangements be reviewed after a 12 month period of operation.

4)           That the recommendations contained within the technical feasibility report relating to existing cameras and connectivity, as outlined in paragraph 10.14 of the officer’s report, be implemented by the Parking and CCTV Manager with the planned programme of improvements to the CCTV infrastructure.

5)           That the existing CCTV recording and control equipment and management software be replaced by an open protocol system.

6)           That a competitive tendering process, financed from the service’ repairs and renewals fund, takes place to procure the open protocol system and be timed to coincide with the Town Hall restack.

7)           That the CCTV monitoring room and associated offices be relocated from 87 New Square to the Town Hall basement, in accordance with the timetable for the Town Hall restack.

8)           That the purchase of all equipment be subject to a competitive tendering process with the associated costs to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

*RESOLVED –

(1)         That the proposed changes to the staffing structure within Building Cleaning Services, as detailed within Appendix A of the officer’s report, be approved in order to bring the establishment back into line with operational needs.

(2)         That the Interim Environmental Services Manager in consultation with the Executive Director and Human Resources be authorised to coordinate the appointment of staff to the revised structure having regard to the Council’s policies and protocols.

The Waste and Street Cleaning Manager submitted a report recommending for approval proposed changes to the staffing structure within Building Cleaning services to bring the establishment back into line with operational needs.

The report followed on from a review of agency staff within Greenspaces and Street Cleansing whereby numbers of agency staff were significantly reduced to reflect corporate policy. A similar review had been carried out in the Building Cleaning service that had identified that significant numbers of agency staff had been engaged to meet the demands of an increased workload.

The vacant positions equated to 7.6 FTEs. The report proposed to fill the vacant posts with contracted positions to replace the agency staff. The details of the posts were listed in the appendices to the officer’s report. In addition, the report proposed to create a pool of part-time variable hour posts, with a guaranteed minimum number of annualised hours, to cover for leave and sickness absence and provide flexibility to cover peaks in demand.

The report outlined the human resources and the financial implications along with the potential risks moving to the new staffing proposals.

*RESOLVED –

1)           That the proposed changes to the staffing structure within Building Cleaning Services, as detailed within Appendix A of the officer’s report, be approved in order to bring the establishment back into line with operational needs.

2)           That the Interim Environmental Services Manager in consultation with the Executive Director and Human Resources be authorised to coordinate the appointment of staff to the revised structure having regard to the Council’s policies and protocols.

*RESOLVED –

(1)         That authority be delegated to the Development and Growth Manager, in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer, Chief Executive Officer and Leader of the Council, to:

                     I.        Agree the final business case and finalise the arrangements for Chesterfield Borough Council to enter into new legal agreements setting out the terms of the partnership company

                   II.        Undertake the transfer of staff under TUPE, to provide building control services to Derbyshire and beyond.

(2)         That authority be delegated to the Development and Growth Manager, in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer, to undertake the necessary procurements on behalf of the new company in order to support the transition to a new building control partnership.

(3)         That a separate trading company be established to deliver Approved Inspector Services outside of the boundary of the Local Authorities involved.

(4)         That the necessary arrangements for the establishment of the separate trading company be put in place by the Development and Growth Manager in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer and the other Local Authorities included in the new building control partnership.

The Development and Growth Manager submitted a report seeking approval to establish a separate trading company in partnership with Amber Valley District Council, Bolsover District Council, Derby City Council, Derbyshire Dales District Council and North East Derbyshire District Council; to deliver Approved Inspector Services.

The report noted that there had been an increase in competitor activity by Approved Inspectors which had resulted in a reduced market share for the Local Authority building control service; in addition, the competitor activity was likely to increase further in the future. The report proposed that a larger local authority building control unit would be equipped to compete with the other Approved Inspectors and be able to take advantage of the upturn of the economy and growth in the construction industry.

The building control service is currently delivered by BCN, a joint Local Authority stand-alone service comprised of Chesterfield Borough Council, North East Derbyshire District Council and Bolsover District Council. The report proposed to pool the building control capabilities of the six authorities in Derbyshire to create a single organisation that would be stronger, more sustainable and better equipped to create a positive economic contribution.

The report outlined the objectives of the business:

·        To provide a blueprint for the commercial delivery of Authority services

·        To deliver the Council’s regulatory obligations

·        To support skills and employment growth

·        To provide a sustainable financial and resource position

·        To reduce the cost of service

·        To generate a surplus

The proposed staffing levels over five years were outlined in the report and it was noted that no staff would be made redundant and it was likely that the company would commence recruiting new staff as soon as it is formed. In addition, it was proposed that there would be the provision to take on graduates and apprentices that would diversify the largely ageing, highly-skilled workforce. Salary levels would be based on the current average salaries by grade and increases of 1% a year had been budgeted for.

A five year business plan was outlined in the report that included the financial implications of the proposals. An upfront investment loan of £250k, sourced from one of the shareholders, would be needed to start up the new business however this would be repaid within the five years of the business plan. In addition, the Council would see an immediate reduction in their contribution to the cost of the building control service and it was projected that a surplus of £0.42m would be created in the fifth year of the partnership. It was noted that the financial model had been stress tested under a variety of scenarios and the projections in the report were conservative and reflected the genuine beliefs of the building control team.

The report outlined the Human Resources, Legal implications and risks involved with ways to mitigate these. The report also outlined alternative options and the reasons why these were not being pursued.

It was emphasised that the proposals provided the opportunity for building control to operate more commercially and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

*RESOLVED –

(1)         That the proposed changes to the Careline and Support Service staffing structure be approved.

(2)         That the Housing Service Manager – Customer Division be authorised to implement the proposed changes to the staffing structure.

The Housing Service Manager – Customer Division submitted a report recommending for approval changes to the staffing structure of the Careline and Support Service in order to mitigate the effects of the substantial reductions in Derbyshire County Council funding and move towards a financially self-sustaining service.

From April 2016 the Council would lose £265,600 in funding. The report outlined that by implementing the proposed changes the funding shortfall could be mitigated.

The report proposed that the role of Sheltered Scheme Manager be deleted and the new post of Social Inclusion Officer be created to organise, facilitate and co-ordinate activities across the schemes and in the outlying community rooms managed by the Housing Service. In addition, the report proposed to merge the roles of Careline Operator and Response Officer into one role. This would allow for more flexibility and the ability to reduce staffing numbers when there is less demand for services. It was emphasised that the new service would offer a more individual support service based on the service user’s needs.

The report proposed to create a new post of Publicity and Marketing Officer with the responsibility to promote the service with a focus on generating extra business and income.

The current and proposed staffing structures, job descriptions and person specifications were attached to the officer’s report.

Consultation with affected staff and their trade unions had been undertaken and details of this process were included in the report.

The report outlined the human resources and the financial implications, along with the potential risks inherent in moving to the new staffing structure and proposed actions to mitigate these.

*RESOLVED –

1)           That the proposed changes to the Careline and Support Service staffing structure be approved.

2)           That the Housing Service Manager – Customer Division be authorised to implement the proposed changes to the staffing structure.