Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest received.

There were no declarations of interest received.

·        25^th July 2023

·        29^th August 2023

The minutes of the meetings held on 25^th July 2023 and 29^th August 2023 were approved as a true and accurate record.

The minutes of the meetings held on 25^th July 2023 and 29^th August 2023 were approved as a true and accurate record.

Members noted the report.

The Head of People and Organisational Development, Human Resources Managers and Learning, Training and Development Manager provided members with an overview of the Strategic Workforce Plan focusing on resourcing, recruitment and the Succession Planning Toolkit.

Members commented that job vacancy listings and their visibility on social media has improved. 

Members enquired if exit interviews were undertaken when staff leave the authority; any data collected could highlight patterns within service areas. Officers confirmed that an exit questionnaire is in place, however, work is planned to re-design and improve the current process. Staff surveys will be run for employed staff and comparisons can be made with exit interview data.

Members commended the presentation and the breadth of topics covered. Congratulations were extended to all staff who contributed to Neath Port Talbot receiving a Fair Play Employer award and their efforts in championing equality. Members queried what factors could be attributed to the increase in job vacancy advertisements, and whether the applicant quality had been impacted by the increase? Officers confirmed significant change in the recruitment and selection rules around advertising. Previously due to budget constraints, external advertising was only used for certain hard to fill roles. Officers were unable to comment on how the increase in job vacancies advertised affected the quality of applicants but noted that 91% of advertised vacancies are filled.

Members asked for clarification of the criteria for a post to be deemed business critical, how were employees assessed in having the necessary skills and qualifications to transition into business critical roles. The Head of Service confirmed that business critical posts are defined as posts where staff need to be in place in order to deliver services. Further work is planned to refine the Succession Planning Toolkit to provide more in depth guidance to managers on determining business critical roles. In relation to skills and qualifications, the Learning, Training and Development Team provide help and support to Managers on national occupational standards and qualification frameworks.

Members queried whether any work had been carried out regarding staff with traits of neuro-diverse conditions? The Head of People and Organisational Development confirmed that this has been identified within the work carried out on health and wellbeing, and will be further developed in the next iteration of the delivery plan.

Member’s complimented the comprehensiveness of the strategy which is underpinned by actionable steps outlined in the Succession Planning Toolkit.  The pro-active stance demonstrates a commitment to the council’s long term success.  The Head of People and Organisation Development thanked members for the positive comments which will be feedback to staff.

Members praised the recently held menopause workshops and commented that it would be valuable for men to also support the initiative. The Head of Service confirmed that men only workshops have been offered, to enable men to ask questions in a safe space. The Leader of Council confirmed that Council fully supported the menopause programme and the support would continue.

Members noted the report.

·        To select appropriate items from the Cabinet (Policy and Resources) Sub agenda for pre-decision scrutiny (cabinet reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members)

There were no items scrutinised from the Cabinet Board papers.

There were no items scrutinised from the Cabinet Board papers.

Members noted the Forward Work Programme.

Members noted the Forward Work Programme.

Any urgent items at the discretion of the Chairperson pursuant to Section 100BA(6)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

There were no urgent items.

There were no urgent items.

To resolve to exclude the public for the following item(s) pursuant to Section 100A(4) and (5) of the Local Government Act 1972 and the relevant exempt paragraphs of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the above Act.

This item was not required as there were no private items scrutinised.

This item was not required as there were no private items scrutinised.

·        To select appropriate items from the Cabinet (Policy and Resources) agenda for pre-decision scrutiny (cabinet reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members)

There were no private items scrutinised.

There were no private items scrutinised.