Agenda, decisions and minutes

No declarations of interest were received.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Brittain.

RESOLVED –

That the minutes of the meeting of Joint Cabinet and Employment & General Committee held on 21 June, 2022 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 Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972” – as they contain information relating to financial and business affairs.

Part 2 (Non Public Information)

RESOLVED –

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 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 Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

*RESOLVED

1.   That it be recommended to Full Council that

·        Chesterfield Borough Council accept the UKSPF funding allocation of £2,693,257 to deliver activity as outlined in the Chesterfield UKSPF Investment Plan, as set out in the Financial Implications

·        £687,000 of the capital element of the UKSPF be added to the Council’s Capital Programme

2.   That authority be delegated to the Executive Director, in consultation with the Council Leader and the Section 151 Officer, to approve individual projects to proceed in line with the Chesterfield UKSPF Investment Plan, and on an ongoing basis, approve changes in project delivery in line with recommendations made by the Internal Programme Board.

3.   That the new post of Economic Development Programme Monitoring and Administration Officer, to support the delivery of the UKSPF programme, as set out in paragraph 8.1 of the officer’s report, and Community Development Worker, which is part of a proposed project, as set out in paragraph 8.2 of the officer’s report be established.

4.   That the establishment of the UKSPF Partnership Board be noted.

REASON FOR DECISIONS

To enable effective delivery of the Chesterfield UKSPF programme and to ensure that the outcomes of the programme as outlined in the Chesterfield UKSPF Investment Plan are achieved.

The Executive Director presented a report seeking approval to receive Chesterfield’s allocation of UK Shared Prosperity Fund, UKSPF, funding and to enable the delivery of activity to proceed as outlined in the Chesterfield UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan.

The report also sought approval for establishment of the post of Economic Development Programme Monitoring and Administration Officer to support the delivery of the UKSPF and the post of Community Development Worker.

Chesterfield was initially allocated a total of £2.69m for the three-year period 2022/23 through 2024/25.  To access the funding, Chesterfield Borough Council had to prepare a detailed Investment Plan, which was submitted to Government by the deadline of 1 August 2022.  Government announced approval of the Investment Plan on 5 December 2022.  A copy of the Chesterfield UKSPF Investment Plan was attached at Appendix 1 of the officer’s report.

Chesterfield Borough Council had now established a Chesterfield UKSPF Partnership Board which was to be chaired by the Leader of the Council.  Draft Terms of Reference for the UKSPF Partnership Board had been developed and these were attached in Appendix 2 of the officer’s report.

The Council had also established a Chesterfield UKSPF Internal Programme Board whose key tasks would be to oversee project delivery, approvals, project procurement, monitoring and reporting.  Draft Terms of Reference for the Internal Programme Board had also been developed and these were attached at Appendix 3 of the officer’s report.

The delivery of UKSPF would involve the engagement of existing staff teams within the Council.  Staff from economic development, policy and partnerships, leisure, procurement, legal, finance and communications teams were all represented on the Internal Programme Board.

It was noted that over time, projects might request changes in spend and in delivery of outputs and outcomes.  It was therefore recommended that authority be delegated to the Executive Director in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Service Director for Finance to approve any changes. These changes would have to be in line with the Chesterfield UKSPF Investment Plan.

The report concluded that the Chesterfield UKSPF Investment Plan supported the Council Plan aims of ‘making Chesterfield a thriving borough’ and ‘improving the quality of life for local people’.  The priorities set out in the Investment Plan would also complement existing council objectives and enable positive outcomes to be achieved for the borough’s communities.

 *RESOLVED

1.   That it be recommended to Full Council that

·        Chesterfield Borough Council accept the UKSPF funding allocation of £2,693,257 to deliver activity as outlined in the Chesterfield UKSPF Investment Plan, as set out in the Financial Implications

·        £687,000 of the capital element of the UKSPF be added to the Council’s Capital Programme

2.   That authority be delegated to the Executive Director, in consultation with the Council Leader and the Section 151 Officer, to approve individual projects to proceed in line with the Chesterfield UKSPF Investment Plan, and on an ongoing basis, approve changes in project delivery in line with recommendations made by the Internal Programme Board.

3.   That the new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

*RESOLVED

1.   That the key achievements which have been enabled by the tier 4 directorate restructure, in terms of key activities delivered as part of the Council plan and through the ICT and Organisational Development improvement and efficiency programmes, be noted.

2.   That the reasons set out for the permanent retention of the fixed-term posts be noted.

3.   That the new structure which makes permanent the tier 4 posts, as set out in paragraphs 4.14 and 4.15 of the officer’s report, be approved, and that the Service Directors be authorised to implement the new structure in line with the Council’s HR policies and procedures.

4.   That it be recommended to Full Council that the following funding proposals be approved subject to the approval, at the same meeting of Full Council of the medium-term financial plan for 2023/24 to 2026/27:

·        The additional ongoing funding of £37,725 from the general fund and £32,767 from the housing revenue account for the part-year costs in 2023/24.

·        The additional ongoing funding of £138,802 from the general fund and £67,334 from the housing revenue account for the full-year costs from 2024/25 onwards.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS

1.   The tier 4 restructure, delivered as part of the overall tier 1 to 4 leadership changes, has been very successful and has enabled the Council to deliver many significant projects and day to day services, through some very challenging times.

2.   It is considered that confirmation of the retention of these posts going forward will be important for the stability of the Council in continuing to deliver its services and in meeting the future financial challenges.

The Executive Director presented a report detailing the activities that had taken place since the directorate leadership teams restructure was approved in July 2021, and setting out proposals to make the fixed-term tier 4 roles that were approved as part of that restructure permanent.

The re-shape of the tier 4 level across the council had led to a reduction in the number of tier 4 posts reporting directly into service directors from 50 to 26. The current tier 4 structure was shown in Appendix 1 of the officer’s report.

The original restructure had focussed on addressing a number of key areas where specific capacity issues had been identified which were affecting the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. The key objectives were;

·        to strengthen the overall leadership and management of the organisation

·        to provide strategic leadership capacity to develop and deliver the Organisational Development Strategy

·        to enable the Council to respond to the challenges of the medium term financial plan

·        to address specific technical and professional capacity issues

The report set out the benefits of having these posts in place and considered the justification for seeking to make the posts that had been established on a fixed term basis permanent.

Table 1 of the officer’s report detailed, for each of the tier 4 posts, the key activities that they had been leading on, in terms of Council plan commitments as well as ICT transformation and organisational development projects. It summarised key achievements and capacity gaps that had been filled, which had provided capacity for service directors to focus on strategic activities. The table also included key reasons why it was considered the roles should be retained and the annual estimated permanent savings that had been, or were in the process of being, delivered since the tier 4 structure had been implemented.

Tables 2 and 3 in the officer’s report set out the costs and associated funding requirements associated with making the tier 4 posts, as recommended in the report, permanent.

*RESOLVED

1.   That the key achievements which have been enabled by the tier 4 directorate restructure, in terms of key activities delivered as part of the Council plan and through the ICT and Organisational Development improvement and efficiency programmes, be noted.

2.   That the reasons set out for the permanent retention of the fixed-term posts be noted.

3.   That the new structure which makes permanent the tier 4 posts, as set out in paragraphs 4.14 and 4.15 of the officer’s report, be approved, and that the Service Directors be authorised to implement the new structure in line with the Council’s HR policies and procedures.

4.   That it be recommended to Full Council that the following funding proposals be approved subject to the approval, at the same meeting of Full Council of the medium-term financial plan for 2023/24 to 2026/27:

·        The additional ongoing funding of £37,725 from the general fund and £32,767 from the housing revenue account for the part-year costs in 2023/24.

·        The additional ongoing funding of £138,802 from the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

This agenda item was deferred.

This agenda item was deferred.

*RESOLVED

1.   That a reduction in the opening hours of the Visitor Information Centre, as set out in paragraph 4.8 of the officer’s report, be approved, and the changes be implemented as soon as practicable.

2.   That it be noted that there will be no change to the number and range of services offered by the Visitor Information Centre.

3.   That the staffing implications associated with implementing the reduced opening hours, as set out in the HR implications section of the report, be noted.

REASON FOR DECISIONS

The proposals have been brought forward to respond to the savings targets for the Visitor Information Centre, that were approved as part of the Council’s budget plans in February 2022. With the current challenging in-year position, it is proposed that he changes are implemented as soon as practicable.

The Service Director for Leisure, Culture and Community Wellbeing presented a report seeking approval to reduce the opening hours at the Visitor Information Centre (VIC), which could be achieved with no change to the services offered from the VIC, and with negligible impact on customers using those services.

The proposal had been developed in response to the savings target for 2023/24, which had been agreed as part of the budget setting report for the financial year 2022/23.

It was reported that the VIC provided a range of services for residents and visitors to Chesterfield. These services included the provision of local visitor information and advice, a box office function for the theatres, a retail shop, the issuing of gold cards for concessionary public transport, bus information and timetables, sales of National Express coach tickets and car parking scratch-cards.  The current opening times were 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

To respond to the savings target, the service had sought to review its operational arrangements and consider options focussed on opening hours, rather than reducing or removing the services offered at the VIC.

As a result of these considerations and taking into account the ability to reduce staff hours through changes to temporary contractual arrangements, it was recommended that the VIC’s opening hours be changed to 10am to 3.30pm, Monday to Saturday. This would enable a clear communication to be made to customers that the full range of services would continue to be offered 6 days a week, thus minimising any potential negative impacts.

The proposed reduction of 1.5 hours per day in opening times at the VIC would generate savings of approximately £6,750 in February and March 2023, and £40,000 a year from 2023/24.  It was proposed that the changes be introduced as soon as practicable.

It was noted that for the six VIC staff on permanent contracts, the number of hours that they were contracted to work would not be directly affected by this proposal, however there would need to be changes to working days and times of shifts. Consultation was underway with staff and the trade unions to agree these new arrangements taking into consideration individual circumstances.

*RESOLVED

1.   That a reduction in the opening hours of the Visitor Information Centre, as set out in paragraph 4.8 of the officer’s report, be approved, and the changes be implemented as soon as practicable.

2.   That it be noted that there will be no change to the number and range of services offered by the Visitor Information Centre.

3.   That the staffing implications associated with implementing the reduced opening hours, as set out in the HR implications section of the report, be noted.

REASON FOR DECISIONS

The proposals have been brought forward to respond to the savings targets for the Visitor Information Centre, that were approved as part of the Council’s budget plans in February 2022. With the current challenging in-year position, it is proposed that he changes are implemented as soon as practicable.