Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 3, Third Floor - Civic Centre, St Peter's Square, Wolverhampton WV1 1SH

Contact: Philippa Salmon  Tel: 01902 555061 or Email: philippa.salmon@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor John Reynolds.

2.

Declaration of interests

Minutes:

Kate Martin, Service Director of Housing, declared a pecuniary interest in item 8 – Review of Senior Management Structure - April 2019.

Tim Johnson, Mark Taylor, Claire Nye, John Denley, Richard Lawrence and Kate Martin declared a pecuniary interest in item 9 – Senior Pay Policy Statement 2019-2020.

3.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 350 KB

[For approval]

Minutes:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 20 February 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

4.

Matters arising

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting]

Minutes:

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

5.

Our Council Plan 2019-2024 pdf icon PDF 170 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Council is recommended to:

1. Approve the Council’s Our Council Plan 2019-2024.

 

Cabinet resolved:

1.  That it be noted that the Council Plan priorities emerged following extensive consultation with over 3,000 people and that the draft plan was available for public consultation to ensure it is reflective of our City’s needs.

Minutes:

Councillor Roger Lawrence presented the Our Council Plan 2019-2024 for approval and recommendation to Full Council. The Our Council Plan would replace the existing Corporate Plan 2016-2019 and would build on the Council’s transformation journey with a focus on delivering improved outcomes for the City. Extensive consultation had been undertaken and the work to create and launch the new Council Plan was commended.

 

Resolved:

 

Council is recommended to:

1. Approve the Council’s Our Council Plan 2019-2024.

 

Cabinet resolved:

That it be noted that the Council Plan priorities emerged following extensive consultation with over 3,000 people and that the draft plan was available for public consultation to ensure it is reflective of our City’s needs.

6.

Wolverhampton Strategic Economic Plan pdf icon PDF 154 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Council is recommended to:

Adopt the Wolverhampton Strategic Economic Plan.

Minutes:

In the absence of Councillor John Reynolds, Councillor Roger Lawrence presented the Wolverhampton Strategic Economic Plan for approval and recommendation to Full Council. The Wolverhampton Strategic Economic Plan would aim to deliver inclusive growth and create the conditions for growth in the City. The refreshed Plan would sit within a hierarchy of plans to ensure that work would continue to deliver inclusive economic growth, including an enterprising city; a working and inclusive city; a vibrant city; and a future city.

 

Resolved:

 

Council is recommended to:

Adopt the Wolverhampton Strategic Economic Plan.

7.

Wolverhampton Homes Business Plan 2019-2023 pdf icon PDF 164 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Council is recommended to:

1. Approve the Wolverhampton Homes Business Plan 2019-2023.

 

Cabinet resolved:

1.    That it be noted that this four-year Business Plan replaces the Delivery Plan which has previously been provided annually.

Minutes:

Councillor Peter Bilson presented the Wolverhampton Homes Business Plan 2019-2023 for approval and recommendation to Full Council. The Business Plan would replace the annual Delivery Plan to allow for longer term service and financial planning. The Business Plan set out how Wolverhampton Homes proposed to deliver services and support the strategic objectives of the Council and the City Housing Strategy for the next four years.

 

Resolved:

 

Council is recommended to:

1. Approve the Wolverhampton Homes Business Plan 2019-2023.

 

Cabinet resolved:

That it be noted that this four-year Business Plan replaces the Delivery Plan which has previously been provided annually.

8.

Review of Senior Management Structure - April 2019 pdf icon PDF 311 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Council is recommended to approve:

1. The Director of Pensions post to be regraded from Grade 14 to Grade 15.

2. The Assistant Director Investment and Pensions post to be regraded from Grade 13 to Grade 14.

3. The establishment of an Assistant Director Pensions post Grade 14 subject to appointment by a Special Appointments Committee.

4. The Service Director for City Environment post is redesignated to Director for City Environment and the post be regraded from Grade 13 to Grade 14.

5. The Service Director for Housing post is redesignated to Director for City Housing and the post be regarded from Grade13 to Grade 14.

6. The Head of Communications post is redesignated to Director of Communications and External Relations and the post be regraded from Grade 12 to Grade 14.

7. The Director of Black Country Transport post be regraded from Grade 13 to Grade 14.

 

Cabinet resolved:

1.    That the structural changes outlined within this report be approved to further increase opportunities for creative solutions and increased performance of the Council’s business activities.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Managing Director to undertake any final consultations with employees and trade unions to implement the changes contained within this report.

3.    That it be approved that the fixed term arrangements for the current interim Strategic Director of Place will cease on 31 March 2019, and the post be subsequently deleted.

4.    That it be approved that the Director of Commercial Services post is deleted, the current post holder left the Council on 21 December 2018.

5.    That it be approved that the Service Director for Strategy and Change post is deleted, the current post holder left the Council on 27 January 2019.

6.    That it be approved that the Assistant Director Schools Standards vacant post is deleted.

7.    That it be noted that the structural changes contained within this report will be implemented, subject to approval with effect from 1 April 2019, unless otherwise stated within this report.

8.    That it be noted that a further delegated review of operational structures will take place by the Managing Director/Strategic Executive Board following the appointments approved within this report.

9.    That it be noted that job evaluation takes place, as appropriate where roles have changed as a result of the Senior Management restructure.

10. That it be noted that there are net savings arising from these recommendations to the General Fund in the region of £350,000.

11. That it be noted that the current interim Strategic Director for Place role may remain with the Council to complete some project based work beyond the current contract end date of 31 March 2019.

12. That it be noted that the line management arrangements currently aligned to the Strategic Director for Place are changed as detailed within this report.

13. That it be noted that the line management arrangements currently aligned to the Director of Commercial Services are changed as detailed within this report.

14. That it be  ...  view the full decision text for item 8.

Minutes:

Kate Martin, Service Director of Housing, left the room at this point and took no part in the consideration of the item.

 

Councillor Roger Lawrence presented the Review of Senior Management Structure – April 2019 for approval and recommendation to Full Council. The Managing Director had undertaken a thorough review of the current Senior Management Structure to ensure it aligned to the Council’s Vision 2030 and Corporate Plan Objectives and provided good value for money. The change in structure would provide clarity and ensure that the £350,000 savings previously agreed would be achieved. The pay grades discussed in the report referred to the current pay policy.

 

Resolved:

 

Council is recommended to approve:

1. The Director of Pensions post to be regraded from Grade 14 to Grade 15.

2. The Assistant Director Investment and Pensions post to be regraded from Grade 13 to Grade 14.

3. The establishment of an Assistant Director Pensions post Grade 14 subject to appointment by a Special Appointments Committee.

4. The Service Director for City Environment post is redesignated to Director for City Environment and the post be regraded from Grade 13 to Grade 14.

5. The Service Director for Housing post is redesignated to Director for City Housing and the post be regarded from Grade13 to Grade 14.

6. The Head of Communications post is redesignated to Director of Communications and External Relations and the post be regraded from Grade 12 to Grade 14.

7. The Director of Black Country Transport post be regraded from Grade 13 to Grade 14.

 

Cabinet resolved:

1.    That the structural changes outlined within this report be approved to further increase opportunities for creative solutions and increased performance of the Council’s business activities.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Managing Director to undertake any final consultations with employees and trade unions to implement the changes contained within this report.

3.    That it be approved that the fixed term arrangements for the current interim Strategic Director of Place will cease on 31 March 2019, and the post be subsequently deleted.

4.    That it be approved that the Director of Commercial Services post is deleted, the current post holder left the Council on 21 December 2018.

5.    That it be approved that the Service Director for Strategy and Change post is deleted, the current post holder left the Council on 27 January 2019.

6.    That it be approved that the Assistant Director Schools Standards vacant post is deleted.

7.    That it be noted that the structural changes contained within this report will be implemented, subject to approval with effect from 1 April 2019, unless otherwise stated within this report.

8.    That it be noted that a further delegated review of operational structures will take place by the Managing Director/Strategic Executive Board following the appointments approved within this report.

9.    That it be noted that job evaluation takes place, as appropriate where roles have changed as a result of the Senior Management restructure.

10. That it be noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Senior Pay Policy Statement 2019-2020 pdf icon PDF 162 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Council is recommended to:

1. Approve the Senior Pay Policy Statement for 2019 - 2020.

2. Approve the publication of the Senior Pay Policy Statement in line with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011.

3. Note that the Service Director and Director grades become a single grade 13 recognising the parity of the roles and responsibilities of the postholders.

4. Note that the Senior Pay Policy Statement 2019-2020 now incorporates a delegation to the Leader of the Council, in consultation with the Head of Paid Service, to approve additional payments to senior management, upon cessation of employment, in addition to redundancy payments where these amount to less than £100,000 in total.

5. Note that the constitution will require some changes to comply with legislation and this Senior Pay Policy. These will be reported to a future Governance Committee.

Minutes:

Tim Johnson, Mark Taylor, Claire Nye, John Denley, Richard Lawrence and Kate Martin left the room at this point and took no part of the consideration of the item.

 

Councillor Val Gibson presented the Senior Pay Policy Statement 2019-2020 for approval and recommendation to Full Council. The Senior Pay Policy Statement fulfilled the Council’s statutory duty to prepare an annual pay policy statement. The pay structure proposed in the report would replace the current pay policy referred to in the report for item 8 – Review of Senior Management Structure - April 2019. It was proposed that grades 13 and 14 would be merged, with grades 15 and 16 to be subsequently regraded appropriately. The ratio between the highest and lowest Council employees had been confirmed as 8.61:1, which was below the recommended threshold for the public sector.

 

Resolved:

 

Council is recommended to:

1. Approve the Senior Pay Policy Statement for 2019 - 2020.

2. Approve the publication of the Senior Pay Policy Statement in line with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011.

3. Note that the Service Director and Director grades become a single grade 13 recognising the parity of the roles and responsibilities of the postholders.

4. Note that the Senior Pay Policy Statement 2019-2020 now incorporates a delegation to the Leader of the Council, in consultation with the Head of Paid Service, to approve additional payments to senior management, upon cessation of employment, in addition to redundancy payments where these amount to less than £100,000 in total.

5. Note that the constitution will require some changes to comply with legislation and this Senior Pay Policy. These will be reported to a future Governance Committee.

10.

Employee Offer, Pay Model and Collective Agreement pdf icon PDF 145 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

1. That the proposed amendments to the NJC pay Model be approved as detailed in the Collective Agreement March 2019.

2. That the amendments to terms and conditions be approved as detailed in the Collective Agreement March 2019.

3. That the implementation of above with an effective date of 1 April 2019 be approved.

4.  That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Governance, in consultation with the Deputy Managing Director, to approve a collective agreement with Soulbury employees to implement a mandatory unpaid leave scheme.

Minutes:

Councillor Val Gibson presented the Employee Offer, Pay Model and Collective Agreement for approval and referred to the amended version of the report and Appendix 2 provided in the supplement pack.

 

The pay model incorporated the nationally agreed pay award to the City of Wolverhampton pay model, all NJC employees would receive the national agreed pay award of a minimum of 2%. The estimated total payroll costs for the Council for 2019-2020 was in the region of £150 million. This included the NJC pay award which must be implemented in April 2019. The Council was seeking to achieve savings of £2 million from amendments to the terms and conditions of employment in 2019-2020. All trade unions had agreed to the changes to the terms and conditions of employment, except the Soulbury Trade Union where negotiations were ongoing. There had been significant consultation and it was proposed that all employees within scope would be required to take three days leave without pay, and that the Council would introduce a Christmas closure using the three days of mandatory unpaid leave.

 

Resolved:

 

1. That the proposed amendments to the NJC pay Model be approved as detailed in the Collective Agreement March 2019.

2. That the amendments to terms and conditions be approved as detailed in the Collective Agreement March 2019.

3. That the implementation of above with an effective date of 1 April 2019 be approved.

4.  That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Governance, in consultation with the Deputy Managing Director, to approve a collective agreement with Soulbury employees to implement a mandatory unpaid leave scheme.

11.

Analysis of the Gender Pay Gap on 31 March 2018 pdf icon PDF 186 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

1. That the attached report on the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Gender Pay Gap for 31 March 2018 be approved.

2. That it be noted that the median pay gap for 31 March 2018 is 0.00%.

3. That it be noted that the Gender Pay Gap data will be published on the Gender Pay Gap reporting on the GOV.UK site together with the attached report.

Minutes:

Councillor Val Gibson presented the Analysis of the Gender Pay Gap on 31 March 2018 for approval. The report fulfilled the Council’s statutory requirement to publish various figures to demonstrate how large the gender pay gap was between their male and female employees. The Council had a mean gender pay gap of 0.00% on 31 March 2018. The pay gap in the upper quartiles was currently higher than the lower quartiles and work was underway to analyse this and put steps in place to close the gap.

 

Resolved:

 

1. That the attached report on the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Gender Pay Gap for 31 March 2018 be approved.

2. That it be noted that the median pay gap for 31 March 2018 is 0.00%.

3. That it be noted that the Gender Pay Gap data will be published on the Gender Pay Gap reporting on the GOV.UK site together with the attached report.

12.

Our People Strategy 2019-2024 pdf icon PDF 143 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

1. That the new Our People Strategy 2019-2024 content and action plans, which forms one strand of the new Council Plan, be approved.

2. That the use of employee working groups to configure appropriate change aligned to the action plans in the strategy be endorsed, in accordance with the restorative approach the Council is seeking to embed.

3. That the introduction of the Our People Employee Forum which will be the governance process for the strategy, set up to measure the success of initiatives and update where appropriate, be endorsed.

4. That it be noted that this strategy and the associated actions plans have been written for employees, using employees’ feedback. It is written in the second person so employees can relate to it directly.

Minutes:

Councillor Val Gibson presented the Our People Strategy 2019-2024 for approval. The Our People Strategy was the Council’s organisational development strategy that would support and develop employees to enable them to deliver the services needed by the City, and enable the Council to address current challenges in a constrained financial context. The Strategy was accompanied by action plans and an Our People Employee Forum to measure the success of initiatives and update where required.


Resolved:

 

1. That the new Our People Strategy 2019-2024 content and action plans, which forms one strand of the new Council Plan, be approved.

2. That the use of employee working groups to configure appropriate change aligned to the action plans in the strategy be endorsed, in accordance with the restorative approach the Council is seeking to embed.

3. That the introduction of the Our People Employee Forum which will be the governance process for the strategy, set up to measure the success of initiatives and update where appropriate, be endorsed.

4. That it be noted that this strategy and the associated actions plans have been written for employees, using employees’ feedback. It is written in the second person so employees can relate to it directly.

13.

Scrutiny Review of Flood Risk Preparation and Response pdf icon PDF 145 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

That the recommendations of the review group be approved as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report.

Minutes:

Councillor Hazel Malcolm presented the Scrutiny Review of Flood Risk Preparation and Response for approval and thanked the Scrutiny Review Group for their work. The report compiled the key findings and recommendations of the scrutiny review of the performance and response of City of Wolverhampton Council and other relevant partners to the flash flooding incident that affected parts of Wolverhampton in May 2018.

 

Councillor Philip Bateman MBE, Chair of the Scrutiny Review, stated that the Scrutiny Review Group had uncovered some areas for improvement in communication and emergency planning and preparation. Work on the review recommendations identified was already underway and was detailed in the action plan.

 

Resolved:

 

That the recommendations of the review group be approved as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report.

14.

MiFriendly City implementation pdf icon PDF 287 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

1. That the acceptance of the grant of £388,000 awarded to the council from Urban Innovative Actions, a body of the European Regional Development Fund to deliver MiFriendly Cities activities in Wolverhampton, be approved.

2. That a budget of £388,000 within City Housing be approved for the MiFriendly Cities project on the understanding that this is funded by the grant from the European Regional Development Fund.

3. That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for City Assets and Housing, in consultation with the Service Director of Housing, to award a contract/individual contracts following a tender process for projects related to MiFriendly Cities.

4. That the requirement for the Council to contribute twenty percent of the total project cost equal to £97,000 of match funding be noted. This will be from existing approved budgets in the form of employee time.

5. That the overall work undertaken in Wolverhampton in relation to new communities, including work to date on the MiFriendly Cities project in Wolverhampton, be noted.

6. That the work on the development of an operational group to have oversight of new community projects be noted.

Minutes:

Councillor Peter Bilson presented the MiFriendly City implementation for approval. MiFriendly Cities was a European programme that looked to improve integration in cities with high levels of migration and would allow Wolverhampton to have the status of one of Europe’s few migrant friendly cities. Participants in the programme would be assisted to make a positive contribution to the City via the range of new services, qualifications and experiences available.

 

Resolved:

 

1. That the acceptance of the grant of £388,000 awarded to the council from Urban Innovative Actions, a body of the European Regional Development Fund to deliver MiFriendly Cities activities in Wolverhampton, be approved.

2. That a budget of £388,000 within City Housing be approved for the MiFriendly Cities project on the understanding that this is funded by the grant from the European Regional Development Fund.

3. That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for City Assets and Housing, in consultation with the Service Director of Housing, to award a contract/individual contracts following a tender process for projects related to MiFriendly Cities.

4. That the requirement for the Council to contribute twenty percent of the total project cost equal to £97,000 of match funding be noted. This will be from existing approved budgets in the form of employee time.

5. That the overall work undertaken in Wolverhampton in relation to new communities, including work to date on the MiFriendly Cities project in Wolverhampton, be noted.

6. That the work on the development of an operational group to have oversight of new community projects be noted.

15.

Black Country Reducing Reoffending Strategy 2019-2022 pdf icon PDF 173 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

That the Black Country Reducing Reoffending Strategy 2019-2022 be endorsed and its implementation supported.

Minutes:

Councillor Hazel Malcolm presented the Black Country Reducing Reoffending Strategy 2019-2022 for endorsement. The Strategy would improve the coordination of multi-agency delivery in the management of offenders, improve intelligence and ensure that offending behaviour could be tackled across local authority areas. The key priorities had been identified as prevention, reducing reoffending and reducing the risk of harm.


Resolved:

 

That the Black Country Reducing Reoffending Strategy 2019-2022 be endorsed and its implementation supported.