Agenda item

One of the duties of the Democratic Services Committee is to consider whether the Head of Democratic Services has sufficient staff and resources to discharge the statutory functions of democratic services.

The Head of Democratic Services outlined the contents of his annual report and the resources and staff available to him.  He concluded that in addition to all statutory obligations continuing to be met staff were also carrying out work outside of these obligations.  Acknowledging the financial challenges currently faced by the council he agreed that the provision by the authority of staff, accommodation and other resources by the council is adequate to discharge democratic services functions as they currently exist. However he did point out that whilst statutory requirements were being met the department could not afford to lose more staff and pointed out potential pressures which could arise from:

—    Any changes in the demands and needs of elected members and external factors

—    Any changes in statutory requirements or local decisions in relation to scrutiny (such as recent changes in relation to Scrutiny of PSB’s)

—    Increased day-to-day demands

—    Changes in legislative requirements

—    The 2017 Local Government elections

—    Any future requirements for remote access

—    Any demand for meetings at other locations

—    Member development

—    Any increase in requirements relating to broadcasting

He added that should there be any changes in statutory requirements, or the needs of members, this would need to be kept under review and would be the subject of a report to this committee

The report prompted a discussion as there appeared to be no forward planning to fill vacancies before staff left the Authority. The Head of Law & Regulation revealed that the Authority’s Human Resources policy did not allow for succession planning.  He did confirm that the imminent loss of staff had been identified as a major risk in the work programme for Democratic Services.  The Committee made reference to the recent decision by the Cabinet Member forFinance & Resources on the creation of an apprenticeship scheme for 2016/17.  The Head of Law & Regulation did however believe that a 12 month apprenticeship could only work in certain areas and would not lend itself to this particular department. 

A discussion ensued highlighting the following:

·             The lack of cover during staff holidays or sickness

·             Insufficient scrutiny personnel should more than one major issue arise at the same time.

The Head of Law & Regulation confirmed that employing an extra body for holiday cover or sickness could not be justified unless statutory requirements were not being met.  He did however acknowledge that scrutiny would find it difficult to handle more than one major issue if it was of the same scale as the recent gypsy and traveller review.

In conclusion the Committee agreed with the Head of Democratic Services that the individuals working in this area clearly provide value for money and each works hard to ensure that elected members’ needs are met.   Currently the provision by the authority of staff, accommodation and other resources by the Council is adequate to discharge the statutory requirements in relation to Decision Making, Democratic Administration and Scrutiny as they currently exist. 

Agreed

 I.            To accept and endorse the Annual Report by the Head of Democratic Services

II.            To ask the relevant  Cabinet Member to review HR policies  with a view to encouraging succession planning within the authority