All members of the panel were present.  An apology for absence had been received from T Sampson, head of human resources and organisational development.

To receive details of any member nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the panel.

None.

To receive any declarations of interest by members in respect of items on this agenda.

None.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on Friday 20 January 2017 at 2.00 pm.

The minutes of the last meeting were received and approved.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on Friday 20 January 2017 be approved as a correct record.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

Details of the scheme and related guidance are available here:

https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/info/200148/your_council/61/get_involved

Please submit questions to councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk

The deadline for the receipt of questions is Monday 10 July 2017 at 5.00 pm.

Accepted questions will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting.

None.

To receive any written questions from councillors.

Please submit questions to councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk

The deadline for the receipt of questions is Monday 10 July 2017 at 5.00 pm.

Accepted questions will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting.

None.

To agree the recruitment process, timetable and role profile for the director for children’s wellbeing, enabling the recruitment and selection process to commence.

The chief executive reminded the panel of the interim arrangements that had been made (minute 6 of 2016/17 refers) and sought approval to extend these arrangements whilst undertaking the recruitment for a substantive director for children’s wellbeing.  Attention was drawn to the role profile at Appendix 1 to the report and to the proposed outline timetable for managing the recruitment and selection process. 

In response to questions from the panel, the chief executive made the following points:

a.         the start date for the substantive director would depend on the relevant notice period required;

b.         the suggestion that reference be made to working ‘collaboratively with other officers and the cabinet member to develop corporate strategy and direction based around an integrated approach to service delivery’, in paragraph 2 of ‘responsibilities and behaviours’, was welcomed;

c.         potential scenarios relating to the interim arrangements were explored briefly;

d.         the panel could have a good level of confidence about the potential response to the recruitment given improvements to overall performance and the rising reputation of the service regionally;

e.         improvements to service areas and educational attainment were very encouraging but the forthcoming Ofsted inspection would determine its own areas of focus; and

f.          a peer review had taken place in June, with another scheduled for September 2017, to obtain objective feedback and strengthen the overall approach.

A member of the panel commented on the corporate plan priority ‘keep children and young people safe and give them a great start in life’ and considered the appointment of a substantive director essential.

The panel discussed Ofsted inspection arrangements, including possible timings and approach.  A member of the panel suggested that the materials should make specific reference to the inspection and commented that previous strategies could provide a template to measure progress against.

RESOLVED:  That

(a)     the role profile at appendix 1 for the post of director for children’s wellbeing be agreed and all other terms and conditions associated with the post remain the same;

(b)     recruitment for a substantive director for children’s wellbeing be initiated; and

(c)     the assistant director for education and commissioning continues to act up into the director for children’s wellbeing role until a substantive appointment is made.

To agree the recruitment process for the director of public health enabling the recruitment and selection process to commence.

The chief executive presented the report which sought approval for the recruitment process for the director of public health.

The chief executive drew attention to the following points:

i.           the appointment of the post of director of public health arose out of the Health and Social Care Act 2012;

ii.          there were complications associated with integrating public health teams into local government environments but significant progress had been made;

iii.         the current shared arrangement with Shropshire Council would come to an end in October 2017;

iv.        this was an important strategic role and resources had to be applied for the maximum benefit for the residents of Herefordshire;

v.         depending on the circumstances, some form of shared arrangement could be considered;

vi.        the outline timetable for managing the recruitment and selection process was similar to that for the director of children’s wellbeing, although the Department of Health’s guidance specified the composition of the appointments committee; and

vii.       the role required both technical expertise and managerial leadership.

In response to questions and comments from the panel, the chief executive advised:

·                it had been the intention to review the current arrangement at this point and it was considered there was a need for focus on local priorities and outcomes;

·                the vice-chairman’s suggestion that, as this was a senior council post, a further member of the employment panel be included on the sub-committee was welcomed;

·                specific reference could be made in the materials to the poor health of children in the county, including dental health;

·                the director for adults and wellbeing would coordinate the sub-committee and the relevant parties;

·                it was acknowledged that the role was critical to the preventative agenda, with wider implications for achieving efficiencies in other services;

·                an amendment to the draft role profile at Appendix 1 was agreed as follows: ‘Hours: As this is a full-time role, however, applications will be welcome from individuals seeking to work a minimum of three days a week’;

·                a further amendment was agreed to include group leaders in the list of ‘key relationships’; and

·                options for shared roles could be explored with individual candidates by the sub-committee.

The director for adults and wellbeing reported that the role profile would be reviewed with the faculty of public health and reformatted to reflect the council’s standard job description layout.

A panel member drew attention to ‘context’ section of the role profile and suggested that the first bullet should include reference to the environment, as follows ‘Understands the link between economic success, the environment and good health and takes a long term approach to strategic improvement in both’.  The merits of this inclusion were debated and other references to the environment and environmental health in the role profile were noted.  A vote was taken on this amendment and it was lost.

Further to the suggestion that another member of the panel be included on the sub-committee, the vice-chairman proposed that this should be the chairman of the panel (or nominee).

RESOLVED:  That

(a)     recruitment for a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The scheduled meeting dates are as follows:

Monday, 2 October 2017 at 2.00 pm

Monday, 15 January 2018 at 10.00 am

It was noted that the next scheduled meeting was Monday, 2 October 2017 at 2.00 pm.