Agenda and minutes

At the commencement of the meeting, the Committee observed a minute silence as a mark of respect, following the recent death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, given that the meeting was taking place during a designated period of national mourning.

To elect a Chair for the duration of the meeting.

RESOLVED – That Councillor Venner be elected as Chair for the duration of the meeting.

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded)

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

It was confirmed that no appeals against refusal of inspection of documents had been received.

RESOLVED – That Appendix 2 to the report entitled ‘Appointment of Deputy Director Social Care’ in Minute No. 7 be designated as exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4(1) and (2) and on the grounds that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information by reason of the need to maintain the competitive nature of the interview process and to retain information submitted by individual applicants in confidence, as disclosure could undermine the process, future appointment processes, or the outcome on this occasion to the detriment of the Council’s and public interest.

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

No declarations were made during the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence from the meeting.

No apologies for absence from the meeting had been received.

To receive a report of the City Solicitor which provides an overview of the governance arrangements and format of this specific Employment Committee.

The City Solicitor submitted a report which provided Members with an overview of the governance arrangements and format for this specific Employment Committee which had responsibility for recruitment to the Position of Deputy Director Social Care within the Children and Families directorate.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the governance arrangements and format relating to the Employment Committee, as detailed in the submitted report, be noted;

(b)  That the Council’s requirements regarding the consideration and disclosure of confidential and ‘exempt’ information, be noted;

(c)  That it be noted that the interview session has been scheduled for Friday, 30^th April 2021.

To receive a report of the Director of Children and Families which presents a proposal to the Employment Committee to appoint to the position of Deputy Director Social Care within the Children and Families directorate.

(Please note that Appendix 2 to this report is designated as being exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4(1) and (2))

The Director of Children and Families submitted a report which outlined the process for the recruitment to the position of Deputy Director Social Care, within the Children and Families directorate.

The Director of Children and Families, a Head of Human Resources and a Human Resources Service Manager were in attendance at the meeting in an advisory capacity. 

Having considered the publically accessible parts of the submitted report and appendices, the Committee agreed to go into private session at this point in order to undertake the formal recruitment process (shortlisting) and specifically consider the information contained within Appendix 2 (candidates’ details) to the submitted report which had been designated as being exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4 (1) and (2).

RESOLVED - That 3 candidates be shortlisted for interview.

At this point, the meeting was adjourned

The meeting was reconvened on Friday, 30th April 2021

Councillors: F Venner (Chair), S Arif, A Scopes and R Stephenson were in attendance.

The Director of Children and Families and a Head of Human Resources were in attendance at the meeting in an advisory capacity. 

Having considered all relevant information in respect of the shortlisted candidates together with the outcomes from the interview process, it was 

RESOLVED – That having considered all relevant information put before the Committee, Julie Longworth be offered the position of Deputy Director Social Care within the Children and Families directorate, subject to the conclusion of the associated notification processes, as set out within the Officer Employment Procedure Rules.