Venue: Committee Rooms 1/2 - Port Talbot Civic Centre
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Creation of a Caretaker post at Trem-y-mor Respite Centre PDF 331 KB Minutes: Members’ approval was
sought to establish the post of 37 hours Caretaker/Domestic Grade 3 (JEID 3605)
at Trem Y Mor
Respite Service as detailed in the circulated report. The Director of Social Services Health
and Housing gave Members a background to the Trem y Mor
Respite service which has been operational since April 2014 and is a brand new
purpose built facility within Community Care. There is currently no caretaker
post in the unit. The proposed post would greatly benefit
the unit due its size and would meet the building maintenance requirements in
the building. The post holder would also undertake general maintenance work at
two other Special Needs Day Services comprising of Brynamlwg
in Port Talbot and Abbey View in Neath Abbey.
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Minutes: Members received a report from the Head of Children
and Young People Services informing them of the savings made by the Service in
2014/15 and to date in 2015/16, regarding the cost of instructing external
barristers to appear in complex child protection cases through the piloting of
an In-House Advocate at fixed cost.
Members approval was sought for the creation of an employed In- House
Advocate Role using funds previously spent on external Barristers, and to give
Authority to the Head of Human Resources to approve a market supplement of up
to £15k to attract candidates of the calibre required,in order to conduct lengthy and complex child
protection cases if the post cannot be filled at Grade 11. Members
also noted the details of a pilot utilising a Barrister working exclusively for
the Council on child protection matters, which has run since 1.4.2014, and
which had produced significant savings against the spend on external counsel,
excluding QCs, by Children and Young People Services in 2013/14. In 2014/15 the
saving was around £48k and a similar saving was projected for 2015/16, with a
Financial Impact Assessment attached at Appendix 1 to the circulated
report. This demonstrated the
desirability of putting in place more permanent arrangements to secure savings
for the future. Following
discussions the Chairperson requested that once the appointment process had
concluded, that an update report be brought back to Committee regarding the
appointment.
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Increasing the hours for Polish and Bengali Bilingual Teaching Assistants PDF 173 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Members’ approval was sought to increase the hours
of the MEAS fixed term contract Bilingual Teaching Assistants (BTAs) Grade 5 scp 20-24. The posts would be
fixed term for a year, 39 weeks per year in the Minority Ethnic Achievement
Support (MEAS) team. 1 x Polish speaking
full time 37 hours, 1 x Bengali speaking part time 18 ½ hours, as detailed
within the circulated report. Officers
advised Members that Bengali and Polish were the highest number of first
languages spoken by pupils with English as an Additional
Language in the area. A 2014-15 survey showed 68 Polish pupils and 108 Bengali
speaking pupils. There had been more new arrivals for both groups since this
survey. The
pupils and their families would need considerable support with interpreting/translation,
induction, integration, mentoring, advocacy and issues relating to safety and
well-being. The class teachers need the Polish and Bengali Bilingual Teaching
Assistants to support the pupils in class and liaise with the schools/families,
as well as supporting them to learn English as an Additional Language (EAL).
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Christmas and New Year Holiday Arrangements 2016/2017 PDF 195 KB Minutes: Members
received a report outlining the proposed opening/closing arrangements for the
main Civic Offices during the Christmas and New Year Holiday Period 2016/2017.
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Chief Executive and Chief Officer Pay 2016 - Update PDF 201 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: Members
were updated in relation to the 2016 national pay negotiations for JNC for the
Chief Executive and JNC for Chief Officers. It was noted that the
National Employers wished to make a final offer, a two year arrangement, which
was 1% on basic salary with effect from 1st April 2016, and 1% on
basic salary with effect from 1st April 2017. Further information
for members was attached at Appendices 1 and 2, to the circulated report.
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Local Government Pay 2016 - Update PDF 130 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: Members
received an update in relation to national pay negotiations for Local
Government Pay 2016 and the introduction of the national Living Wage on 1st
April 2016 as detailed in the circulated report.
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Registration of School Learning Support Workers PDF 152 KB Minutes: Members’
approval was sought to approve the reimbursement to School Learning Support
Workers for payment of the registration fee, set at £15.00 per registrant, for
the registration year 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, as detailed within the
circulated report. Members were advised that
from 1st April 2016, under the Education Wales Act 2014 and the
Education Workforce Council (Main Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2015 (as
amended), the requirement for professional registration would be extended to learning
support workers in both school and Further Education settings in Wales. This means that in order to work as a
learning support worker in Wales, a person must be registered with the
Education Workforce Council (EWC).
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Head of Service Job Title PDF 123 KB Minutes: Members
received a brief report seeking approval to change the Job Title - “Head of
Business Strategy” following organisational changes, as outlined in the
circulated report.
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Introduction of a Performance Appraisal Process PDF 126 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: Members received a report seeking approval for the
introduction of an Authority wide Performance Appraisal process following a
review of the existing process. Members noted that the
Council already had performance appraisal arrangements in place at Chief
Officer and Accountable Manager level. Before rolling out arrangements to all
employees within the Council, a review of these arrangements was carried out to
take into account recommendations from the Wales Audit Office. The new Performance Appraisal
Procedure was attached at Appendix 1 to the circulated report. Members were
advised that this new Procedure had been trialled in two service areas, with
feedback from managers and employees being built into the final document.
Consultation also took place with employees via the recognised Trade Unions and
the Trade Unions had confirmed that they were supportive of the new
arrangements. Members noted that two Performance Appraisals forms had been developed,
recognising that for some jobs, the approach to objective setting will be more
straightforward than others. The more basic form for Members’ information was
shown in Appendix 2 of the circulated report. Following discussions Members
confirmed the importance of a robust appraisal system encompassing
opportunities for benefits to the individual and the organisation as a whole
including training for managers.
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Access to Meetings Minutes:
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Community Care Management Arrangements Minutes: Members
received a private report from the Director of Social Services Health and
Housing seeking to approve proposals for the management of Community Care on an
interim basis, following the resignation of the Head of Community Care and
Commissioning in October 2015. Members
noted that since October 2015 three other key resignations had taken place (two
Principal Officers and the interim Acting Head of Integrated Community
Services) which naturally had placed more challenges upon the management of the
Adult Social Care Service. Following discussions, it was noted that the current
Head of Children and Young People Services (CYPS) had played a pivotal role in
successfully leading the improvements within the CYPS, having developed a
suitably qualified and competent workforce. The Director of Social Services
Health and Housing reiterated that this
experience resonated with what would now be required in the Community Care
Services and confirmed that approval was sought
so that the Head of Children and Young People Services could assume
interim responsibility for Community Care Services for up to 12 months as
detailed within the private circulated report.
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Management of Margam Country Park Minutes: Members
received an update report regarding the revised staffing structure for Margam Country Park as attached at Appendix 1 to the
circulated private report. Members
were informed that the amendments to the staffing structure were required due
to the fact that the Park Management was now responsible for the Orangery and
Charlotte’s Pantry, which would assist the park in achieving cost savings and
increase income in order to meet financial targets.
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Holiday Payments and Overtime Minutes: Members
received a report seeking approval regarding changes to the way in which
holiday payments were calculated, agree changes to the Council Policy to ensure
compliance with the recent change to case law, and address the Council’s back
pay liability in settlement of potential litigation action as detailed in the
private circulated report.
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