Agenda and draft minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Spooner.

To approve the record of the meeting held on 2 December 2021.

The record of the meeting of the Joint Committee held on 2 December 2021 was agreed and signed by the Chairman as correct.

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct.  Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 3.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

There were none.

The report updates the Joint Committee on the current forecast for the 2020/2021 financial year and gives details against the progress of the objectives of the Business Plan 2020/2021.

Discussion:

The Joint Committee considered the Partnership’s monitoring report from December 2021 to February 2022 which set out the current forecast for the 2021 - 2022 financial year and gave details against the progress of the objectives of the Business Plan 2021-2022.

Members expressed appreciation for the good performance of the Partnership for the said period. 

In response to a comment, the Director of the Partnership commended the Operation Team’s expertise and efforts in dealing with dangerous structures during Storm Eunice. She said that based on the monitoring of the weather forecast and their planning for the week, resources were able to be directed to deal with the dangerous structures and maintain service delivery. This had worked very well for emergency control of building work. A member thanked the work of the frontline staff and highlighted that this was one of the benefits to justify funding the Partnership.  

Decision:              

The Joint Committee agreed to note the contents of the report.

Reason for Decision:

The Constitution requires the Joint Committee to monitor the progress of the Partnership.

This report summarises the content of the appendices to agenda item 5 and the report and appendix to agenda item 6, which, in the opinion of the proper officer, contain exempt information within one of the categories in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. It is a matter for the Committee to determine whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of documents. 

Decision:

The press and public were excluded from the meeting during consideration of the exempt appendices relating to agenda item 5 and exempt report and appendix relating to item 7 because consideration of these matters in public would disclose information falling within Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as specified in agenda item 6, and, in all the circumstances of the case, the Joint Committee considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

This report is an examination of staff retention and recruitment issues, with options as to how to ensure the Partnership’s resilience going forward and maintain adequate staffing levels with the right qualifications to deliver the service in line with the requirements of the Building Safety Bill.

Background:

The Joint Committee considered a report prepared at members’ instruction to examine staff retention and recruitment issues and to report back with an options paper as to how to ensure the Partnership’s resilience going forward and maintain adequate staffing levels with the right qualifications to deliver the service in line with the requirements of the Building Safety Bill.

Members exchanged views on the Partnership structure including team profile, career pathway, employment package and recruitment as well as market position. They also considered possible options to recruit and retain staff.

Decisions:

Members agreed to:

a)    an increase of all market premia by £2,000

b)    an initial retention payment (year one) for all surveyors of £2,000 with follow up payments in future years; and

c)    review of all job profiles and salary grades with a further report to be presented to Joint Committee.

Reasons for Decisions:

The benchmarking assessment thus far has established that the Partnership is comparative with other authorities, however, they are also experiencing the same recruitment and retention issues. For reasons set out in the report, it is critical to retain and recruit suitably qualified and experienced staff.