Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED

that the minutes of the meeting of the Appointments Committee which was open to the press and public held on 19 October 2011 be confirmed as a correct record.

RESOLVED

that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded 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 3, 4 and 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12(A) of the Act, as amended by the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to information) (Amendments) (England) Regulations 2006 and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information:

4. Review of the Chief Executive’s Working Arrangements

The report was presented by the Head of Personnel and Development, who explained that the review had been requested by the Mayor and had been fully discussed with him prior to being reported to the Appointments Committee.

The Head of Personnel and Development reported that in order to undertake the review he had spoken to Cabinet Members and Executive Directors about the revised working arrangements and the broad conclusion which had been reached was that sufficient arrangements had been put in place and the Chief Executive’s schedule adjusted so that the organisation and management of the Council was unaffected.

Councillor Maines asked if the lack of a named Deputy Chief Executive had been an issue. He was assured by the Executive Director for Resources & Regeneration that Executive Directors shared responsibility when the Chief Executive was unavailable for a specific issue or for any developing emergencies and that the Chief Executive had always proved contactable on days where technically he was not at work.

Upon questioning, Councillor Hall received confirmation that the arrangement had been independently assessed and that no recommendations for additional action had been made.

Councillor Maines asked if any further reviews were planned and was informed by the Mayor that unless requested by the Chief Executive no further review was intended until after the May 2014 elections. The Head of Personnel and Development emphasised that any review would relate to working arrangements and not individual performance.

RESOLVED

That the review be noted and the arrangements put in place be endorsed.