Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To note any urgent items of business which the Chair has consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B) 4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no urgent items of business to consider.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a)         any business on the agenda

b)         any urgent additional items to be considered

c)         any matters arising out of those items

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 11 September 2024.

During discussion of the minutes Councillor Deborah Watson sought feedback in relation to the affordability of establishing new posts and the deletion of vacant posts and how these were being monitored. It was confirmed that the number of vacant posts were being monitored and if they remained vacant and unlikely to be filled the budget could be removed for the remainder of the financial year. Vacancy savings were included on the Medium Term Financial Plan quarterly monitoring reports. Any proposals for the removal of posts from the Council’s establishment would be subject to a committee report and decision.

Moved by Councillor Deborah Watson and seconded by Councillor Duncan McGregor

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Employment and Personnel Committee

          held on 11^th September 2024 be approved as a correct record.

The Committee considered a report which sought approval to recruit a Housing Options Triage Officer as a permanent addition to the Council’s establishment due to the increasing pressures and demand for the service.

The report outlined the Council’s duties under The Housing Act 1996 Part 7, as amended by The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 (which came into force in April 2018) which placed new duties on council’s to actively intervene earlier to prevent homelessness and work with those presenting as homeless or at threat of homelessness. 

There had been a significant increase in the number of people seeking assistance from the service but also presenting with more complex needs. The Housing Options Triage Officer would be the first point of contact to assess whether the Council had a statutory homelessness duty, to identify any additional support or signpost to relevant agencies and partners.

Funding for the post for the remainder of the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years was available from unspent homeless prevention grant in a general fund reserve. Approval was also sought for funding to establish this post with the Council’s establishment from the 2026/27 financial year and beyond. The new post was Grade 6 and would incur additional costs (including on-costs) of £38,810 (subject to the pay award) and be funded from the Council’s General Fund with effect from April 2026.

The Committee discussed and supported the proposals.

Moved by Councillor Sandra Peake and seconded by Councillor Mary Dooley

RESOLVED that (1) the addition of a new full-time permanent Housing Options Triage Officer on the establishment to be funded from the general fund from April 2026 be approved.

          (2) Recommend to Council a revenue budget increase per year of £38,810 (subject to pay award) to the general fund from April 2026.

The Committee considered a report which sought approval for the employment of a second Corporate Property Officer within the Dragonfly Facilities Management Service to make the service. The Facilities Management Service managed 40 corporate buildings on behalf of the Council under a Service Level Agreement. The addition of a second Corporate Property Officer would be a cost-effective solution to address the current capacity issues within the team and would improve the ability of the service to be more proactive as detailed in paragraph 3.1 of the report. Resilience needed to building into the service to face the existing pressures but also upcoming challenges such as new work programmes such as solar and Net Zero.

The cost for the grade 7 post equated to £43,033 to £46,657 (including oncosts and pay award pending) to be funded from the Council’s General Fund.

The Committee discussed and supported the proposals.

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Tom Munro RESOLVED (1) that a new full-time, permanent, Corporate Property

          Officer post funded by the General Fund be approved.

          (2) To recommend to Council an annual revenue budget increase of £43,033 - £46,657, with the intention to achieve reductions in expenditure of £30,500 as a minimum.