Agenda and minutes

The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

There were none.

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee, held on 26 November 2020.

It was moved by Councillor M Stephenson, seconded by Councillor Amos and:-

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Human Resources & Council Tax Committee held on Thursday 26 November 2020 be approved as a correct record.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Personal Interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

Councillor Griffiths declared for the public record that he was a member of the GMB Union but that he had no involvement with Tendring District Council in that capacity.

Subject to providing two working days’ notice, a Member of the Committee may ask the Chairman of the Committee a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Tendring District and which falls within the terms of reference of the Committee.

No Questions on Notice had been submitted on this occasion.

The Committee will receive from the Human Resources & Business Manager an oral update on the Council’s operational response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the related staffing mattters.

The Committee received from the Assistant Director (Partnerships) an oral update on the Council’s operational response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the related staffing matters.

Anastasia Simpson, the Assistant Director (Partnerships) and Russ Cole, the Temporary Community Engagement Manager informed the Committee of the current COVID-19 figures in relation to the following:

• Confirmed cases (3)
• Staff required to isolate (2)
• Clinically vulnerable (13)
• Extremely clinically vulnerable (4)
• Travel isolation (0)

Those figures also included the number of members of staff working from home.

The Assistant Director and the Temporary Community Engagement Manager also provided the Committee with an update regarding the following:

• Staff redeployment – overall, 236 members of staff had been redeployed.
• PCR testing – 7250 kits issued.
• Contact Centre – Additional members of staff recruited.
• Track and Trace – The number of calls had decreased significantly.
• COVID ambassadors – Two ambassadors redeployed, and a further four ambassadors had been appointed in January 2021.
• Vaccination hub – Clacton Hospital – HR would work with EPUT to explore plans for possible additional sites.

Members raised questions on the above which were responded to by Officers.

The Committee noted the foregoing.

To seek confirmation of the final Council Tax amounts for 2021/22 including the precepts issued for 2021/22 by Essex County Council, Essex Police and Essex Fire & Rescue Services.

Members were reminded of Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, which provided that any Member, who was in arrears by at least two months with their Council Tax payments, could not vote on matters concerning either the level of, or administration of, Council Tax.  It was important to note that this also covered Council Tax liabilities outside of the District and property which may not be their main residence. If present at the meeting, a Member to whom this provision applied must disclose the fact and may speak on the item, but could not vote.  Non-compliance with this section wasa criminal offence. Therefore, should this provision apply to any Member, this should be disclosed.

The Committee’sconfirmation was sought in respect of the final Council Tax amounts for 2021/22 including the precepts issued for 2021/22 by Essex County Council, Essex Police and Essex Fire & Rescue Services.

At its meeting on 16 February 2021, Council had considered the Executive’s Budget and

Council Tax proposals for 2021/22 and as part of this process the Council Tax for District and Parish / Town Council Services had beenapproved.

The Council’s Corporate Finance Manager and Deputy Section 151 Officer (Richard Bull)was in attendance and informed Members that, once the precepts were received from the major precepting authorities, the Human Resources and Council Tax Committee had the delegated responsibility to agree the total Council Tax for 2021/22. The total Council Tax for the year was made up of the District and Parish / Town Council amounts approved by Council on 16 February 2021 and the corresponding amounts agreed by the major precepting authorities. Legislation required this formal confirmation even though the process was dictated by legislative formulae and there was no actual judgement or choice to be made.

The precepts from the major precepting authorities for 2021/22 resulting in the final Council Tax amounts, were set out in Appendix C, for formal confirmation by the Committee.

Following a discussion, it was moved by Councillor Griffiths, seconded by Councillor M Stephenson and RESOLVED that:-

(a) the precepts issued by Essex County Council, Essex Police and Essex Fire, as set out in Appendix A attached to the Report of the Assistant Director (Finance & IT), be noted.

(b) the amounts of Council Tax for 2021/22, as shown at Appendix C to the aforementioned report, for each of the categories of dwellings be confirmed.

To present the Pay Policy Statement for 2021/22.

The Chief Executive (Ian Davidson) declared a prejudicial interest in the subject matter of this item and thereupon withdrew from the meeting.

Anastasia Simpson, Assistant Director (Partnerships) presented the Pay Policy Statement for 2021/22.

The Committee was reminded that Section 38 (1) of the Localism Act 2011 required the District Council to prepare a pay policy statement each year. The pay policy statement must articulate the Council's approach to a range of issues relating to the pay of its workforce, particularly its senior staff (or 'chief officers') and its lowest paid employees.

The matters that must be included in the statutory Pay Policy Statement were as follows:

• A local authority’s policy on the level and elements of remuneration for each Chief Officer;

• A local authority’s policy on the remuneration of its lowest-paid employees (together with its definition of “lowest-paid employees” and its reasons for adopting that definition);

• A local authority’s policy on the relationship between the remuneration of its Chief Officers and other Officers;

• A local authority’s policy on other aspects of Chief Officers’ remuneration: remuneration on recruitment increases and additions to remuneration, use of performance related pay and bonuses, termination payments and transparency.

This statement was subsequentlypublished on the Council's website following each review and approval by Full Council.

It was reported that the Pay Policy Statement 2021/22 had been designed to give an overview of the Council’s framework regarding pay and rewards for staff within the Council. This framework was based on the principle of fairness and that rewards should be proportional to the weight of each role and each individual’s performance. The framework aimed to ensure the ability of the Council to recruit talented individuals whilst ensuring value for money for the residents of Tendring.

Members raised questions on the above which were responded to by Officers.

Following a discussion, it was  moved by Councillor Amos, seconded by Councillor Chittock and RESOLVED that the Committee recommends to Full Council:-

that the Pay Policy Statement 2021/22, as set out in the Appendix to item A.2 of the Report of the Assistant Director (Partnerships), be adopted.

To provide Members of the Human Resources Committee with an update on current staffing statistics.

Katie Wilkins, Human Resources & Business Manager provided  the Committee with an update on the current staffing statistics including:

• Workforce Statistics
• Age Profile
• Disability Profile
• Ethnicity Profile
• Sickness Absence

The analysis of workforce data provided Members with statistics relating to the staff employed within the Council and how this compared to the Tendring District and national averages. This was a standard report that was provided to the Human Resources Committee as part of each meeting.

Tendring District Council currently had 493 full time equivalent (FTE) employees. The FTE figure equated to 779 employees in total (including casual workers and Career Track learners) this wasmade up of 372 full time, and 407 part time staff.

Members raised questions on the above which were responded to by Officers.

Following a discussion, it was RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted.

The Committee is asked to consider passing the following resolution:

“That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Agenda Item 10 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A, as amended, of the Act.”

It was moved by Councillor M Stephenson, seconded by Councillor Griffiths and:-

RESOLVED that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of Agenda Item 10 on the grounds that itinvolves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A, as amended, of the Act.

To confirm as a correct record the exempt minute of the meeting of the Committee held on 26 November 2020.

It was RESOLVED that the exempt minute of the meeting of the Human Resources & Council Tax Committee held on Thursday 26 November 2020 be approved as a correct record.