Venue: Committee Room A/B, South Walks House, South Walks Road, Dorchester, DT1 1EE
Contact: Lindsey Watson 01305 252209 - Email: lindsey.watson@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
No. | Item |
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To confirm the minutes of the
meeting held on 14 October 2019. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting
held on 14 October 2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the
Chairman. |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations
of interest. Minutes: There were no declarations of
interest. |
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Public Participation To receive questions or
statements on the business of the committee from town and parish councils and
members of the public. Minutes: There were no representations
from parish or town councils or from members of the public. |
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Urgent items To consider any items of
business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be
urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The
reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes. Minutes: In
response to a request from the Chairman, the committee was provided with an
update in respect of outstanding issues with signing off the accounts of the
former Dorset Councils Partnership councils.
The Executive Director of Corporate Development noted that confirmation had
been received from the External Auditor that all work required had been
completed. The only outstanding point
was to receive confirmation from banks as to balances as at 31 March 2019. On
a separate point, the Chairman noted that he had received a communication from
the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government with regard to
reviewing the role of the external auditor. |
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Presentation - Dorset Council Workforce Data and People Strategy PDF 1 MB To receive a presentation on
Dorset Council Workforce Data and the People Strategy. Minutes: Following a request
by the committee at a previous meeting, councillors received a presentation
which covered Dorset Council workforce data and the People Strategy. The committee considered the issues arising
from the presentation and during discussion, the following points were raised: Workforce Data ·
Staff
turnover and sickness absence figures were noted ·
10% of
posts in the establishment were vacant and it was noted that some vacant posts
had been held while restructures were undertaken. The current tranche 2 was coming to an end ·
A
review of recruitment practice had been undertaken ·
The
Dorset Council website was the main location for council job vacancies,
although it was noticed that a lower level of recruitment was currently taking
place ·
As at
the end of September 2019, the headcount for Dorset Council was 4669 (3665 Full
time equivalents) ·
A
discussion was held with regard to sickness levels and in particular the level
of long-term sickness and the strategies that were in place to deal with these
issues ·
A
comment was made with regard to stress related illness and issues around mental
health in particular directorates and that there may be a need for a specific
piece of Human Resources (HR) work within these directorates ·
An
overview of the issues being addressed through the Blueprint for Change
consultation was provided including the need for manageable case loads for
social workers ·
Levels
of staff morale in the council were considered and different views
expressed. The council was looking to
procure a system in order to survey staff in a more modern way ·
The
council operated a ‘Business Partner’ approach with each service area being
allocated a senior HR contact. Workforce
data was also available at directorate level ·
A point
was noted with regard to the need for the committee to receive information on a
timely basis and particular reference was made to the position in Children’s
Services ·
The
Executive Director of Corporate Development responded to recognise the position
and to reiterate that everything was being done to support Children’s Services
through the Blueprint for Change consultation ·
The
Chairman noted that he had been contacted by the South West Audit Partnership
with regard to the timing for the committee receiving information and inviting
any comments from councillors prior to him submitting his response ·
Information
from each directorate was included in the presentation and reference was made
to ‘knowledge management’ and how information could be retained or transferred
with people leaving the council.
Particular reference was made to information from the Business Insight
and Corporate Communications area ·
A point
was raised as to how Dorset Council held and shared information and it was
understood that some work was being undertaken in this area. It was noted that a councillor workshop on
the Dorset Council transformation programmes was being held on 10 January 2020
and it was suggested that councillors attend this session and following this, the
committee could give further consideration to whether any further work was
required in this area · The Portfolio Holder for Children, Education ... view the full minutes text for item 44. |
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Presentation - Dorset Council EU Exit Preparations PDF 179 KB To receive a presentation
from the Executive Director of Place with regard to preparations being made by
Dorset Council in respect of EU Exit. The presentation will be available at the meeting. Minutes: The committee received a presentation from the Executive Director of
Place, which set out the preparations being undertaken by Dorset Council in
respect of EU Exit. The update covered
the work that had been undertaken by the council and noted that an extension
for EU Exit had been granted until 31 January 2020. It was reported
that in line with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s
approach, the Strategic and Tactical Groups set up by the council had been
paused. All structures in this area
would be reconvened in January 2020. Councillors
considered the issues arising from the presentation and during discussion, the
following points were raised: ·
In
response to a question the Executive Director confirmed that scenarios would be
prepared for from the emergency control centre based at County Hall. Desktop exercises were undertaken and the
Executive Director was confident that the council had the resilience to deal
with events, including where there may be more than one incident ·
Work
had begun on the issues around recovery following response, which had included
discussion with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council on areas such as
support for economic development ·
Close
work was undertaken with the Police around social unrest issues, which was an
area led by the Police, supported by the council ·
A
discussion was held with regard to the EU Settlement Scheme and it was noted
that the Home Office had confirmed the
current scheme would be open until at least 31 December 2020. Relevant people could be advised to register
under the scheme if required and it was noted that Citizens Advice could assist
people to register ·
The
Chairman asked that a further update be provided at an appropriate time. |
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Treasury Management 2019/20 Mid-Year Update PDF 415 KB To receive the 2019/20
Mid-Year update for Treasury Management. Minutes: The committee
received and considered a report which summarised the treasury management
performance and position information for Dorset Council for the financial year
to 30 September 2019. A training session
was to be run for all councillors, provided by officers and advisers, to
further explain the responsibilities that councillors had in relation to
treasury management. Councillors
considered the contents of the report and during discussion, the following
points were raised: ·
Reference
was made to a loan from BAE Systems, set out in appendix 2 of the report and
points noted with regard to potential public concern with ethical borrowing
issues and the ability to repay the loan early if required. In response, the Service Manager for Treasury
and Investments provided background to the specific loan and noted that the
loan had consolidated a number of previous loans. There would be a premium in order to repay
early. It was noted that a number of the
loans listed were loans taken out by the former Dorset County Council and that
they would have been taken out in accordance with the strategy of the former
council ·
In
response to a question, it was noted that there was an active market in
inter-authority lending for short term borrowing ·
A lot
of borrowing was based on the strategy of the former Dorset County Council ·
The
council would aim to have variances in the maturity dates for loans in order to
mitigate in case of a sudden increase in interest rates. |
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Audit and Governance Committee Work Programme PDF 75 KB To review the Audit and Governance Committee Work Programme. Minutes: Councillors
reviewed the Audit and Governance Committee work programme and items expected
at forthcoming meetings. It was noted that the External Audit Plan
would now be presented to the meeting on 16 January 2020. At the next meeting
on 3 December 2019, the committee would be considering the Financial Report for
Quarter 2 2019/20. The committee
requested that the Executive Director of People – Children be invited to the
meeting as it was noted that there was a 13% overspend on budget in this area
for the first 6 months of the financial year (as set out in the finance report
considered at Cabinet on 5 November 2019) and councillors would like the
opportunity to have a discussion on progress being made in this area. The committee also requested a further update on Dorset Council preparations in respect of EU Exit at their meeting on 16 January 2020. |
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Exempt Business To move the exclusion of
the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely
disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph x of schedule
12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). The public and the press will
be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered. There is no exempt
business. Minutes: There was no exempt business. |