Agenda and minutes

Chief Officer Appointments Panel - Friday 15 December 2023 10.00 am

Venue: Council House

Contact: Jake Metcalfe  Email: democraticsupport@plymouth.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

147.

Declarations of Interest

Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest. 

148.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 80 KB

The Panel will be asked to confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 17 November 2023.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting that took place on 17 November was agreed as a true and accurate record. 

149.

Chair's Urgent Business

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be bought forward for urgent consideration.

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business from the Chair.

150.

Senior Management Recruitment: Update

Minutes:

Tracey Lee (Chief Executive) presented the report to the Panel and highlighted the following key points:

 

a)     

The Council had successfully recruited to posts of Director of Children’s Services, Service Director for HROD and the Head of Legal services;

 

b)     

The Council had sought to recruit to the Director of Resources position but had been unsuccessful on two occasions. The Panel were advised that the process to recruit to the position had been paused and a further paper would be brought back following a review of the arrangements in place;

 

c)     

The Council had sought to recruit to the Service Director of Education, Participation and Skills but had been unsuccessful. The process to recruit to the position would continue and preliminary interviews by Tracey Lee and David Haley (Director of Children’s Services) would take place w/c 18 December;

 

d)     

Nigel Denning (Interim Service Director for Children, Young People and Families) would continue in the post and recruitment to the permanent position of Service Director for Children, Young People and Families would continue. It was acknowledged that an OFSTED visit would be likely in the new year and to continue with current arrangements was welcomed for continuity in leadership;

 

e)     

The Panel would hear a report in the new year on the Service Director for Customer Services and Digital role and whether or not direct line management should be with the Director of Resources;

 

f)      

The Council would seek to recruit to positions in Finance and would look to recruit to the permanent position of Service Director for Finance (S151 Officer) by March 2025.

 

In response to questions raised it was reported that:

 

g)     

Further discussions would take place in January which would review the role profile of the Service Director for Finance and Director of Resources role to ensure fair, comparative and competitive pay.

 

The Panel agreed unanimously to:

 

1.    Extend the current interim arrangements for the role of Service Director for Finance to 31 March 2025.

151.

Exempt Business

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Minutes:

The Panel agreed to pass a resolution under Section 100(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

152.

Senior Management Recruitment: Update

Minutes:

Tracey Lee (Chief Executive) presented the report to the Panel.