Agenda and minutes

Councillors Chris Evans, Ibrahim Hayat, Graham Berry and Mark Whitcutt

None.

The minutes of the previous meetings held on 7th June 2021 and 21^st June 2021 were approved as a true and accurate record.

Invitees:

-        Rhys Cornwall – Head of People and Business Change

-        Rachael Davies – HR and OD Manager

The Head of People and Business Change gave a brief introduction to the report outlining the situation prior to the first lockdown of March 2020 and the subsequent general actions taken by the Council, focussing specifically on the Health and Safety aspects, support for employee well-being and communications.

The HR and OD Manager was introduced to provide greater detail. In March 2020 the immediate response was to put out as much information as possible and maintain good communication links with staff. The primary objective was to take steps to consider how best to protect and support the workforce. In line with government guidance all staff who were able to work from home were issued with guidance to do so, whilst those that were unable to work from home but were at higher risk of potential harm due to an underlying health condition, or had a family member who was vulnerable, to remain at home and not attend their workplace.

The existing HR /Payroll system was updated to record self-isolation details, shielding requirements, and also cases of Covid-19 and hospitalisation. The Gold Command group took decisions around the way in which terms and conditions were applied in order to support the workforce. Overtime rates and the flexi time scheme were reviewed and changes applied to enable operational services to continue and increased flexibility to staff who needed support balancing their work and home lives during the demands of the pandemic. One major consideration during this time was how to support staff working from home. Remote Display Screen Assessment communications were rolled out by the Health and Safety Team. Checklists of appropriate and required equipment were made available to staff and when required, either delivered to the home address or safe collection from the Civic Centre arranged.

The Health and Safety Team had been working full-time on Covid related issues as the volume of work was unprecedented whilst also dealing with much of the day to day health and safety at work, accident reporting and investigations, wellbeing assessments and providing support for managers and staff had also continued. There had been a significant increase in the number of Occupational Health referrals where clinical support was required for employees suffering from effects of the pandemic, either directly or resulting from an issue with family members which had impacted upon their physical or mental wellbeing. Where possible, health and safety support continued to be offered during the interim period until an occupational health appointment could take place. However, for many cases clinical support was needed for cases where there was no work-related link.

The HR & OD Manager went on to report on staff training during the pandemic stating that  all in-person courses had ceased in March 2020 whilst we waited for our training providers to adapt their courses to be delivered remotely via Teams. The 2021/22 Learning and Development Programme would be entirely provided via  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

a)      Forward Work Programme Update (Appendix 1)

Invitee

-        Neil Barnett – Scrutiny Adviser

The Scrutiny Adviser presented the Forward Work Programme, and informed the Committee of the topics due to be discussed at the next two committee meetings:

Monday 1^st November 2021 at 4pm, the agenda items;

· 2021-22 Service Plan Mid-Year Review for:

 - Law and Regulation

 - People and Business Change

Monday 15^th November 2021 at 4pm, the agenda items;

· 2021-22 Service Plan Mid-Year Review for:

 - Regeneration Investment and Housing

 - City Services

 - Finance

The Scrutiny Adviser queried with the Committee if they would permit for the two meetings to be changed to a slightly later date in order for service areas to be able to provide their data. The proposed new dates would be:

Monday 15^th November 2021 at 4pm, the agenda items;

· 2021-22 Service Plan Mid-Year Review for:

 - Law and Regulation

 - People and Business Change

Monday 29^th November 2021 at 4pm, the agenda items;

· 2021-22 Service Plan Mid-Year Review for:

 - Regeneration Investment and Housing

 - City Services

 - Finance

The Scrutiny Adviser then advised that the Committee that if these amendments were to be agreed, then the meeting afterwards would also need to be changed to –

Monday 13^th December 2021 at 4pm, the agenda item;

· Economic Growth Strategy and Economic Recovery Plan – Recommendations Monitoring

The Committee agreed for the new dates for the November and December meetings. The Scrutiny Adviser advised the Committee that the Forward Work Programme would be updated and meeting invitations would be sent out shortly.