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.

There were no declarations of interest nor transparency statements made.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 13 March 2023 for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it the planner of committee business as prepared by the Interim Chief Officer – Governance (Legal).

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note the reasons outlined in the planner for the delay to items 14 (Equality and Diversity Policy) and 18 (Staff Governance Committee Annual Effectiveness Report); and

(ii)       to otherwise note the planner.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer which presented the Cluster Risk Register and Assurance Map in accordance with Staff Governance Committee Terms of Reference to provide assurance that risks were being managed effectively within the People and Organisational Development Cluster.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the Cluster Risk Register and Assurance Map set out in Appendices A and B.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers had advised that the risk register would be updated depending on the outcome of the UNITE/GMB ballot of school staff; and

(ii)       to otherwise note the risk register and assurance map.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided a high level summery of Aberdeen Scientific Services Labs’ (ASSL) move to the James Hutton Institute and the benefits to staff and the service.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the progress and achievement of Aberdeen Scientific Services Labs’ (ASSL) move to James Hutton Institute, the engagement with team members throughout this change and the benefits and opportunities realised for staff through this.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

With reference to article 4 of the minute of its meeting of 21 November 2022, the Committee had before it a report which provided an update on activity to develop the young workforce, namely:-

·       the Apprenticeship programme;

·       internships for Care Experienced Young People; and

·       ABZ Campus – Employability Pathway Programme.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note that the Chief Officer – People and Organisational Development had advised that officers could investigate how Elected Members might be able to become involved with mentoring young people in future; and

(b)      note the progress of the continuing work to develop the young workforce, to do this in line with the Council’s Local Outcome Improvement Plan commitments, and to shape the workforce for the future.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would circulate the gender breakdown of the pupils involved in the ABZ Campus Employability Pathway Programme to Members and Trade Union Advisers outwith the meeting; and

(ii)       to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer which set out the change journey to date for staff through the introduction of Dynamics 365 as the Client Relationship Management tool across Social Care. The report also set out the next steps for the project.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the change journey and the adoption and change management tools and methods used within that in embedding Dynamics 365;

(b)      note the engagement techniques, including end-user co-design, which had fed into the development of the tool and its roll-out as part of the overall approach to workforce engagement as the Council moved through transformation, and to include these approaches in the implementation of the Workforce Delivery Plan;

(c)      note the meeting of the Council’s commitments within that plan, specifically around ensuring the right skills were in place, with the right support and that empowered people would take effective decisions to meet the needs of customers and, with the effective use of data and digital, allow limited public resources to be targeted; and

(d)      note that the innovative use of Dynamics 365 for Social Work had resulted in the project being a finalist at this year’s Local Government Chronicle awards.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers could circulate information to Members and Trade Union Advisers outwith the meeting as to how Dynamics 365 operated, and that the presentation which had been given to other local authorities could be arranged for Members if required; and

(ii)       to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer which provided an update on the application to date of the revised Managing Discipline, Managing Grievances and Dignity and Respect at Work policies.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the data provided regarding the usage and application of the policies;

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer - People and Organisational Development to

undertake a deep dive of the data to identify areas, managers and employees who would benefit from additional support and early intervention to prevent escalation of issues;

(c)      instruct the Chief Officer - People and Organisational Development to take action to reduce the length of time currently being taken at each stage of the policies as set out in paragraph 3.16 in the report; and

(d)      to instruct the Chief Officer - People and Organisational Development to report disciplinary, grievance and dignity and respect at work data to the Staff Governance Committee on an annual basis.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers were looking into designing refresher training for Investigating Officers, but that meantime, they could retake the online course or book into face to face training;

(ii)       in relation to mediation, to note that officers would circulate information to Members and Trade Union Advisers outwith the meeting in relation to how many meetings had been held in person or online; and

(iii)      to approve the recommendations.

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 January to March 2023 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, particularly in relation to how data was presented in respect of incidents within the Operations cluster.

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 officers would look to break down the Operations incidents data further in future reports;

(ii)       to note that officers would alter the cover report for future meetings to reflect that reporting near miss incidents also prevented escalation; and

(iii)      to otherwise note the report.

With reference to article 7 of the minute of its meeting of 21 February 2022, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer which set out the review of the impact of the Employee Mental Health Action Plan and proposed further amendments following that review, as well as including an update on the action taken to support employee mental health over the past 12 months.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the Mental Health Action Plan and support the work outlined to address and improve employee mental health and wellbeing; and

(b)      note the proactive actions carried out so far to address and support positive employee mental health; and note the variety of initiatives, activities, training and support made available to employees during the last 12 months.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would invite Trade Union representatives to the training provided to managers; and

(ii)       to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 7 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer which set out an update on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, and provided assurance that work was progressing to meet the Council’s Equality Outcomes and was continuously adapted and improved.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the progress made as part of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan;

(b)      approve the approach to further reviewing the data from the aforementioned Progress Report and placing a focus of equality, diversity and inclusion work on the areas outlined in section 4.3.3 of the report;

(c)      instruct the Chief Officer – People and Organisational Development to report to Staff Governance Committee on progress to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan on an annual basis which will either be as part of Mainstreaming or Progress Report updates or as an independent report in years where there is not a Mainstreaming or Progress Report;

(d)      instruct the Chief Officer - People and Organisational Development to report to Staff Governance Committee in advance of the next Mainstreaming Report being presented to Anti-Poverty and Inequality Committee in March 2025 (dates to be confirmed) with an update on proposed staffing-related content and Outcomes. This will include the annual update on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan; and

(e)      instruct the Chief Officer – People and Organisation Development to report to Staff Governance Committee on any future changes of approach towards the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan or any additional equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives and actions that require elected member approval.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would endeavour to include numbers alongside percentages in future reports to assist in providing clarity; and

(ii)       to approve the recommendations.

-          COUNCILLOR NEIL COPLAND, Convener