Agenda and minutes

Cllr Mark Hawthorne was appointed as Chair for the 2021/22 Civic Year.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2021.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 5 March 2021 were approved as a correct record.

To answer any written public questions about matters which are within the powers and duties of the Committee. The closing date/time for the receipt of questions is 10.00am on Monday 29 November 2021.

Depending on the nature of the questions asked it may not be possible to provide a comprehensive answer at the meeting, in which case a written answer will be supplied as soon as reasonably possible after the meeting.

None received.

To answer any written members’ questions. The closing date/time for the receipt of questions is 10.00am on Monday 29 November 2021.

None received.

6.1       Pete Bungard, Chief Executive, introduced the item and members noted the following points:

·         On 3^rd February 2019, the Committee considered a paper on the proposition of replacing the Strategic Finance Director post with a Deputy Chief Executive, encompassing the s151 role.

·         A number of reasons were given at the time for this proposal, but this mainly revolved around capacity and cover in the Chief Executive’s absence.

·         It was also however noted that the market for senior positions was difficult at the time and, in order to avoid not filling the s151 officer role at all, a number of amendments were tabled as a contingency.

·         The Committee in February 2019 agreed the following recommendations (two out of four that are relevant to this discussion – the full minute text can be found here):

In response to the report, including the revised recommendations, the

Committee agreed that:

§  Subject to a successful appointment process, the post of Strategic Finance Director is replaced with effect from late February 2019 by the re-establishment of the post of Deputy Chief Executive, which will incorporate the statutory s151 Officer role […]

§  An Appointments Sub-Committee will be held on 22nd February 2019 with the intention of appointing the Deputy Chief Executive (and s151 Officer), but with a reserve position of appointing to the Strategic Finance Director post if necessary.

·         Following this agreement, an Appointments Sub-Committee was held on 22 February 2019 to interview the short-listed candidates for the above role. The Committee approved on an appointment but agreed at the time to be cautious and appoint to the Strategic Finance Director post.

·         The paper at today’s meeting reiterated the original position of the need for a Deputy Chief Executive in the senior management structure, with the added reality that the officer appointed to the Strategic Finance Director (now known as the Executive Director of Corporate Resources) post was basically fulfilling the role of a Deputy, without the recognition of the title.

·        It was added that given the previous decision to include the Section 151 role within the Deputy Chief Executive role, it was only the Executive Director of Corporate Resources who could undertake the position. There was no financial implications of making this change.

6.2       There was concern from some members about the process followed in making this selection. It was questioned whether other Executive Directors/qualified candidates had had a fair chance to also apply for the role through a legal and open process.

6.3       It was advised that the Chief Executive had regular 1:1 conversations with their management team. As a consequence, the Executive Directors were all aware of both the previous decision to create the Deputy Chief Executive to include the Section 151 role and the current proposals. They were also of the view that the Exec Director of Corporate Resources was effectively undertaking the role without the title.

6.4       In response, it was suggested that other potential candidates may have reacted differently if a formal advertisement had been made, rather  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.