Meeting documents

As requested at the previous meeting, Sam Anthony circulated Shared Service/Commissioning Arrangements and Staffing Information documents to the Committee and agreed to share electronically. Rob Bridge suggested that the documents are attached as an appendix to the budget report in the new year. The Committee agreed.

The minutes of the meeting of 5 August 2016 were agreed and signed.

Members considered the Corporate Health and Safety Policy 2017 Report presented by David Vincent.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

1. Councillor Yeulett asked how often Health and Safety Meetings take place within the Council. David Vincent explained that Health and Safety should be a standing item on team meeting agendas and this is checked as part of the audit, there is also a Base Health and Safety Group, and representatives from each service make up the Health and Safety Panel who meet 4 times per year;


2. Councillor Yeulett asked about the number of accidents at this Council. David Vincent confirmed that the number of accidents reported is at the same level as last year which was 29, a few years ago we were higher at approximately 60, so the numbers have reduced;


3. Councillor Yeulett asked for confirmation that most of the accidents reported are relatively minor. David Vincent confirmed that most are minor, on average per year we have about 2 or 3 reportable accidents to the HSE;


4. Councillor Seaton referring to the supporting codes of practice asked are there any that are a cause for concern. David Vincent confirmed that there are none that are a cause for concern, he added that the codes of practice go through a formal review process looking at potential issues that we might have;


5. Councillor Seaton asked if these are particular pressure points. David Vincent confirmed that they are not pressure points and are monitored on a constant basis, but if there are pressure points and incidents have increased we will look to deliver additional training or revise the processes in place;


6. Councillor Murphy stated that we have come down from around 60 accidents to 29, and asked if that is due to the reduced number of staff. David Vincent confirmed that the number of staff has reduced but in general the majority of accidents happen in the Refuse and Cleansing Team where the teams have not greatly reduced. In general the reduction in accidents is as a result of improved training, risk assessments and other measures put into place;


7. Councillor Butcher referring to time lost through accidents asked if the accident at the port has impacted on this report. David Vincent confirmed that data will show on next year's return;


8. Rob Bridge confirmed that the committee will receive a Health and Safety Report around June 2017 and that will include any data from the accident at the port. He added that there is a calculation as part of that report that takes the overall figures to per 100 staff members and that is where it will be clearer to compare to other local authorities;


9. Councillor Yeulett asked if the Council encourages incident reporting. David Vincent confirmed that the current reporting system uses a combined incident/accident and near-miss form, the same format is used for reporting, he informed members that the Council encourage near-miss reporting too;


10. Councillor Yeulett asked if people are reporting near-misses. David Vincent confirmed that it is encouraged but it is difficult to change the culture of this type of reporting and reassured members that we are working on it;


11. Councillor Mrs Davis asked who is responsible for display screen equipment and who assesses the workstations. David Vincent stated that in each service area we have a trained DSE assessors who will look into initial issues, other issues can be referred to either himself or HR. He explained that everybody completes DSE assessments and we are currently going through a revised DSE assessment form and code of practice. Councillor Mrs Davis suggested that there may be some DSE issues in the planning offices. Rob Bridge reassured members that this is a management responsibility and agreed to investigate further.

The Staff Committee AGREED to approve the draft Corporate Health and Safety Policy 2017 for implementation within the Council.

Members considered the Confidential Review of Contact Centre (CSR Report) Report.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses.

The Staff Committee AGREED to:

• Note the Confidential Report;


• Note the overall annual efficiency saving of £123,000 in 2017-18 and each subsequent year achieved as a result of the proposal;


• Approve the changes to numbers of posts in the Customer Services Team and any associated redundancy costs as shown on this report;
  
• Recommend to Officers that moving forward some wording is added to the Financial Implications section of the report to clarify the process for using the Management of Change Reserve and the overall savings when the associated costs have been taken into account;


• Recommend to Officers that Redundancy Settlement Agreements are in place for voluntary redundancies now and in the future.