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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: a) That the Attendance Management Mid-year update 2023/2024 be noted. b) That the Attendance Management Annual Report, to be presented in June 2024, includes information on cost control measures and cost impact.
RESOLVED: That the Public and Press be excluded from the meeting under the provisions of Section 100A of the above Act during consideration of the following item as it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 14, Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act and that in all the relevant circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Andrew Wood and Jenny Williams (Strategic Director – Social Care and Education).
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Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: a) That the Attendance Management Mid-year update 2023/2024 be noted. b) That the Attendance Management Annual Report, to be presented in June 2024, includes information on cost control measures and cost impact.
The Cabinet Member for Democracy and Governance introduced the Attendance Management Mid-year update for 2023/2024 and the Head of People and Performance highlighted key points from within the report. It was noted that the report was being presented as a result of a request from the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 30 August 2023 for an update on the management of staff attendance. In scrutinising the report, Members discussed the following: • It was felt that the dashboard did not reflect the Council’s current financial challenges and the need for collective financial resilience throughout all services, as the number of staff seemed to have increased. • The Head of People and Performance advised that the number of Council staff had increased, due to casual staff being employed by Conwy County Borough Council as it was more cost effective than utilising agency workers. Members were also advised that supply teachers were being reported as non-school staff and this would be resolved; it was noted that the head count did not reflect the number of hours a person was employed for. For example, even if casual or supply staff had not worked during the year, they were still counted in the staffing headcount. • It was confirmed that all posts being advertised were essential and that a budget was in place for them. Each post was scrutinised by HR and Finance Officers, as well as the Chief Executive. • The Chief Executive advised that there was a requirement to deliver frontline services which had to be staffed. In future, consideration may have to be given to stopping or reducing some non-statutory services. • The Head of People and Performance advised that Heads of Service and HR business partners received sickness data on a monthly basis which could be utilised to address specific concerns. • The Council’s Attendance Management Policy, which set out how absence was managed was available to access via the intranet. • The Strategic Director – Finance and Resources advised that absence costs included lost productivity and dependent on the role, the costs of replacement workers. Additional financial information could be included within future reports. • An audit of attendance management was due to take place in February 2024. • Reference was made to the National Health Service (NHS) waiting times for treatment which could have impact on staff absence. • Whilst it was suggested that working from home could have a negative impact on staff wellbeing due to loneliness and isolation, it was confirmed that office based staff were able to work from an office as often as they liked and that a flexible approach offered a better work life balance. • It was felt that the current economic climate had an impact on stress and anxiety levels. • In response to concerns raised regarding the low levels of return to work interviews being reported for Schools, the Head of People and Performance advised that HR was working with Schools and the Education Department to understand the best way for these interviews to be conducted and reported. • The Head of People and Performance would enquire as to whether statistics for stress risk assessments could be provided. • It was suggested that annual outturn in respect of sickness absence, which included data from several years (including pre and post Covid) would be useful. • Reference was made to an evaluation of the National Procurement Service for National Procurement Service Provision of Temporary Workers and Supply Teachers Framework Agreement, which had been approved by Cabinet in April 2023. A scrutiny topic form would be submitted accordingly. RESOLVED: a) That the Attendance Management Mid-year update 2023/2024 be noted. b) That the Attendance Management Annual Report, to be presented in June 2024, includes information on cost control measures and cost impact.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Public and Press be excluded from the meeting under the provisions of Section 100A of the above Act during consideration of the following item as it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 14, Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act and that in all the relevant circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
RESOLVED: That the Public and Press be excluded from the meeting under the provisions of Section 100A of the above Act during consideration of the following item as it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 14, Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act and that in all the relevant circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
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