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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED That Mr Michael Gray be appointed to the role of Director of Social Care and Housing at Pembrokeshire County Council. [Councillor Neil Prior left the meeting at this juncture.] The webcast of the meeting then resumed.
RESOLVED That the Committee recommends to Council: (1) That the post of Chief Housing Officer be re-designated to become the post of Head of Housing & Public Protection; (2) That the terms and conditions attached to the post of Head of Housing & Public Protection be approved at JNC Band 3; (3) That the JNC graded role of Head of Environmental Services & Public Protection on Band 2 be deleted from the structure; (4) That the job titles of Heads of Service be re-designated to Service Directors and existing Directors to Corporate Directors; (5) That responsibility for the Customer Service Centre and Contact Centre move across to the Assistant Chief Executive’s Directorate from the Resources Directorate; (6) That the title of the current Head of Procurement & Customer Services be changed to the Director of Financial Services, with the inclusion of the line management of the Finance Service; (7) That the future arrangements in respect of the role of Head of Human Resources be considered in due course following a review of structural options The meeting ended at: 2:12p.m.
There were no apologies for absence.
There were no declarations of interest.
Moved by Councillor Elwyn Morse; Seconded by Councillor Tessa Hodgson. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 17 June 2022 be approved as a correct record.
The Leader invited Mr Seb Lowe from Gatenby Sanderson to outline the interview process to date. He explained that Gatenby Sanderson undertook a four week executive search process where potential candidates were targeted across England and Wales for the post of Director of Social Care and Housing, as well running an advertising campaign which featured in the Newcastle Journal and the Guardian. Mr Lowe stated that there were 99 candidates in total and after making direct approaches, the end of the four weeks resulted in seven candidates. He highlighted that five candidates undertook a technical review with himself and the current Director of Social Care and Housing, Mr Jonathan Griffiths, in order to establish whether they had the technical skills required, three of which were considered to meet the specific requirements of the role. Mr Lowe then stated that those three candidates went through a further two interviews, a stakeholder panel led by the Assistant Chief Executive and a panel led by the Chief Executive. He stated that the panels focused on working and leadership style, what they might bring to the organisation, as well as their motivation for joining Pembrokeshire County Council. Councillor Neil Prior sought clarification in regards to whether the candidate’s motivation for value-driven service was shown within the interviews. In response, Mr Lowe stated that values were not questioned deliberately and understood that values and public service motivation was critically important for anybody undertaking any public post. He then highlighted that the final two candidates stood out in the previous interviews, due to their values on motivation.
Councillor Jacob Williams Moved that the public be excluded from the meeting; Seconded by Councillor Di Clements. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 as it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 12 Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act; and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The webcast of the meeting was then stopped.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That Mr Michael Gray be appointed to the role of Director of Social Care and Housing at Pembrokeshire County Council. [Councillor Neil Prior left the meeting at this juncture.] The webcast of the meeting then resumed.
The Committee convened in private session under the terms of Paragraph 12 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 to interview applicants for the post of Director of Social Care and Housing. The Committee then interviewed the two short-listed candidates for the post of Director of Social Care and Housing. The Committee then considered each candidate having regard to the Job Description, Person specification for the post and their performance. Councillor Tessa Hodgson Moved that Mr Michael Gray be appointed to the role of Director of Social Care and Housing; Seconded by Councillor Paul Miller. The Motion was put to the vote and carried. RESOLVED That Mr Michael Gray be appointed to the role of Director of Social Care and Housing at Pembrokeshire County Council. [Councillor Neil Prior left the meeting at this juncture.] The webcast of the meeting then resumed.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee recommends to Council: (1) That the post of Chief Housing Officer be re-designated to become the post of Head of Housing & Public Protection; (2) That the terms and conditions attached to the post of Head of Housing & Public Protection be approved at JNC Band 3; (3) That the JNC graded role of Head of Environmental Services & Public Protection on Band 2 be deleted from the structure; (4) That the job titles of Heads of Service be re-designated to Service Directors and existing Directors to Corporate Directors; (5) That responsibility for the Customer Service Centre and Contact Centre move across to the Assistant Chief Executive’s Directorate from the Resources Directorate; (6) That the title of the current Head of Procurement & Customer Services be changed to the Director of Financial Services, with the inclusion of the line management of the Finance Service; (7) That the future arrangements in respect of the role of Head of Human Resources be considered in due course following a review of structural options The meeting ended at: 2:12p.m.
The Committee considered a report by the Chief Executive on the progress of Phase 2 of the Organisational Operating Model. The Chief Executive introduced the report and stated that it outlined an update with proposals as a result of the ongoing review of the Operating Model. He made reference to the previous report that established a Head of Law and Governance, Assistant Chief Executive and Head of Planning, as well as other associated changes within the Operating Model. The Chief Executive stated that the second phase of the Operating Model Review was still underway and would focus predominantly on Asset Management within the Authority. He stated that the Council was focusing on the key recommendations that aimed to improve strategic processes, recommended by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). They suggested that a Corporate Asset Management Board and an Operational Asset Management Working Group be established, which the Chief Executive confirmed had been done. The Chief Executive then highlighted the seven recommendations, as outlined in the report and stated that this would align Pembrokeshire County Council with the majority of other Local Authorities. In regards to the vacancy for a Head of Human Resources, the Chief Executive stated that he would like to take time to review the potential structural options before the post was advertised for recruitment. Councillor Paul Miller Moved the Recommendations; Seconded by Councillor Di Clements. Councillor Jacob Williams sought clarification in regards to the amount of Service Directors and what their new titles would be. In response, the Chief Executive stated that the outlined appointments were being re-designated rather than created, as Heads of Service were being re-designated to be known as Services Directors and there would be no change in the numbers. Councillor Williams then raised concern around the perception of the Council if the outlined recommendations were endorsed by the Committee and he queried the impact on the Scheme of Delegations if the proposals were approved He stated that he could not support recommendations 4 and 6. In regards to recommendations 4 and 6, the Head of Law and Governance stated that those recommendations could be endorsed by the Committee and highlighted that only the terms and conditions of the re-designations would need to go to full Council for approval. The Chief Executive stated that there was no intent to remunerate any differently from a Head of Service designation to a Service Director designation. He highlighted that he would be happy to withdraw recommendations 4 and 6 if the Committee was not comfortable with them and would instead bring them back at a later date. In regards to Councillor Williams’s earlier question, the Assistant Chief Executive confirmed that there were currently 13 Heads of Service. Councillor Williams again highlighted the perception of the Public in regards to the title changes creating a total of 18 Directors, but accepted the fact that there would be no additional payment in relation to the outlined re-designations. Councillor Miller highlighted that it was important to explain that despite a total of 18 Directors, there was only going to be five strategic Directors and the remaining total would be called Corporate Directors, if agreed by the Committee. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors David Simpson, Paul Miller, Di Clements, Elwyn Morse and Tessa Hodgson [5] Against the Motion: Councillor Jacob Williams [1] There were no abstentions. RESOLVED That the Committee recommends to Council: (1) That the post of Chief Housing Officer be re-designated to become the post of Head of Housing & Public Protection; (2) That the terms and conditions attached to the post of Head of Housing & Public Protection be approved at JNC Band 3; (3) That the JNC graded role of Head of Environmental Services & Public Protection on Band 2 be deleted from the structure; (4) That the job titles of Heads of Service be re-designated to Service Directors and existing Directors to Corporate Directors; (5) That responsibility for the Customer Service Centre and Contact Centre move across to the Assistant Chief Executive’s Directorate from the Resources Directorate; (6) That the title of the current Head of Procurement & Customer Services be changed to the Director of Financial Services, with the inclusion of the line management of the Finance Service; (7) That the future arrangements in respect of the role of Head of Human Resources be considered in due course following a review of structural options The meeting ended at: 2:12p.m.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
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