Agenda, decisions and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be viewed here.

Please note that if any changes are made to this minute at the point of approval, these will be outlined in the subsequent minute and this document will not be retrospectively altered.

The Convener advised that Councillor Massey was replacing the late Councillor Mackenzie on the Committee.  He welcomed Councillor Massey however noted that it was unfortunate that the reason he was now attending the Committee was due to such sad circumstances.

The Convener added that he wished to note the sad passing of Mike Middleton, who had previously been one of the GMB Trade Union Advisers on the Committee, paying tribute to the service that Mike had given to the Council and to the GMB.  Councillor Macdonald added that Mike had been a real gentleman, deeply rooted in his family and in his Trade Union work.  Councillor Boulton further noted Mike’s constant smile and that he had always dealt with people with good grace no matter the issue being discussed, and that she hoped Mike’s family took consolation from how well regarded he was.  Finally, Ms Robertson added her tribute to Mike on behalf of UNISON.

There were no declarations of interest nor transparency statements made.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 30 January 2023 for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it the business planner as prepared by the Interim Chief Officer – Governance.

At this juncture, the Convener advised that due to the relatively low volume of business on the agenda for the meeting of 15 May 2023, he proposed to cancel that meeting in terms of Standing Order 7.3, and move any reports to the next meeting of the Committee to be held on 26 June 2023.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note the reasons outlined in the planners for the delays to item 4 (Mental Health Action Plan Annual Update) and item 6 (Whistleblowing Policy);

(ii)       to agree to remove items 10 (Employee Assistance Scheme / Occupational Health / Sickness Absence Six Monthly Update) and 31 (Developing Young Workforce / Employability Update);

(iii)      to otherwise note the planner; and

(iv)      to note the cancellation of the meeting of 15 May 2023, and that all expected business would instead transfer to the meeting of 26 June 2023.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which presented statistical health and safety performance information for the three month reporting period October to December 2022 to provide Members with the opportunity to monitor compliance with health and safety legislation.

Members asked a number of questions in relation to the report, including the statistics around incidents of unacceptable behaviour.  There was further discussion around the differing requirements by Health and Safety Executive inspectors and the request for paper records to be made available on site when electronic records were already available.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the report and provide comment on the health, safety policy, performance, trends, and improvements.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord was liaising with the Health and Safety Executive in relation to the differing expectations of inspectors in terms of paper records and electronic records;

(ii)       to note that officers would review the colour scheme used in the graphs to ensure that there was consistency between graphs relating to similar information;

(iii)      to otherwise note the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services which provided an update on the utilisation of the Employee Assistance Service (EAS) provided by Time for Talking and VIVUP during the last 12 month period January to December 2022; and a further update on the Occupational Health and Absence data for the period 1 January to 31 December 2022.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee consider the contents of the report.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would keep the committee apprised of progress with the absence improvement work being undertaken through the Performance Board, including any specific areas included with the action plan and the impact of any initiatives being undertaken;

(ii)       to note that officers would present a report to Committee later in the year in respect of communication and engagement with staff; and

(iii)      to otherwise note the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services which set out the employee information which had been presented as part of the 2023 Equality Outcomes Progress Report to the Anti-Poverty and Inequality Committee at its meeting on 8 March 2023, and provided assurance on work being undertaken to meet the Council’s employer Equality Outcomes in line with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the employee information update presented as part of the 2023 Equality Outcomes Progress Report presented to Anti-Poverty and Inequality Committee attached at Appendix 1 and Appendix 2; and

(b)      note the work undertaken to date, provided within the Progress Report at Appendix 1 and Appendix 2, as part of the Council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan to meet our Equality Outcomes as an employer.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would provide detail of the timescales for the introduction of Diversity Packs in the report due to Committee in June 2023;

(ii)       to approve the recommendations; and

(iii)      to instruct the Chief Officer – People and Organisational Development to provide an update to Staff Governance Committee at a future meeting of the Committee on any impact the report had on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan as well as any changes, updates or new areas of focus based on the data and analysis.

-          COUNCILLOR NEIL COPLAND, Convener