Agenda and minutes

The Mayor announced that as the meeting was to be held as a remote conference on Zoom, any Member participating by remote link who declared an interest in any item of business in terms which required them to leave the room must ensure that they cannot be seen or heard during the agenda item.

He explained the process for connection failure and that  should the link not be re-established before the end of the meeting then the presumption would be that the meeting should continue to deal with the item providing the meeting remains quorate. Should the meeting no longer be quorate the meeting shall be adjourned and any remaining items of business would be deferred. Any Member who had been absent from the debate on a particular item due to connection failure must abstain from the vote on that item.

The Mayor explained that Members would use the functionality of the software to speak and each Member would be asked in turn for their vote at the appropriate time.

He advised that the meeting would be recorded and live-streamed on YouTube.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bains and Wilkinson. Councillor Hewson had difficulties making a digital connection where he could be seen and heard by the Council and members of the public therefore he was participating as an observer only and was considered as absent for the vote.

A personal interest in respect of County Councillors Orson, Pearson and Posnett is taken as being on record for any matters which relate to the Leicestershire County Council.

Members to declare any other interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

A personal interest in respect of County Councillors Orson, Pearson and Posnett was noted as being on record for any matters which related to the Leicestershire County Council.

The Chief Executive to submit a report which updates Members on the recent corporate restructure and seeks approval for the consequential financial implications; specifically in relation to changes within the Housing and Communities Directorate in order to facilitate continuing delivery of the Housing Improvement Plan (HIP).

The report also seeks approval to designate the statutory role of the Monitoring Officer.

The Leader of the Council presented a report which updated Members on the recent corporate restructure and sought approval for the consequential financial implications; specifically in relation to changes within the Housing and Communities Directorate in order to facilitate continuing delivery of the Housing Improvement Plan (HIP). The report also sought approval to designate the statutory role of the Monitoring Officer.

The Leader moved the recommendations and stated:

‘Following the resignation of the Director for Governance and Regulatory Services it was necessary for the Council to both appoint a new Monitoring Officer and consider whether it wanted to go out for a like for like recruitment, or reallocate responsibilities through a new structure.  

The current director role was created two and a half years ago, at a time when the Council was undertaking a Governance Review and was contemplating a fundamental shift in the way it operated. The Council was extracting itself from a shared legal service and needed to establish its own in-house legal team, as well as establish a new democratic services function. The challenge for the new directorate was significant and it was necessary to elevate the role to Director level status to ensure the required change could be delivered.

Since then, things have moved on significantly and we have established in-house legal and democratic services teams. We also have a more settled position in relation to our governance processes and our new Constitution is in place. These arrangements should always be kept under review, but given the more stable position, we felt a different level of structure and resourcing was required. We also wanted to create opportunities for internal progression, retain talent within the organisation and deliver a saving to the general fund. A number of other reviews were also underway and we have taken the opportunity to bring these together to address some more minor operational issues. Most notably, this report also addresses the proposed changes within the housing team, which respond to the review undertaken by the new Director since his arrival in March and which will assist him in ensuring continued delivery of the Housing Improvement Plan and Corporate Strategy.

Following a month long period of consultation, the elements of the structure associated with the General Fund have been implemented, and these will deliver an ongoing saving of £50,000 per annum, support talent retention and deliver a smooth transition from the existing structure, whilst also shifting resources from senior managers to operations.

I know we are all rightly concerned about the current financial uncertainty and there will no doubt have to be some difficult decisions as we set the budget for next year. By delivering a saving this structure will support this process and provides a prudent response and way forward. It will however be important for all members to be fully engaged in budget development and I would therefore like to add an additional recommendation which confirms that all members will again be invited to take part in the budget scrutiny process  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO48

The Mayor reported that as there would be no Mayor’s lunch for staff this year, he had procured a Christmas gift for each member of staff. Also he wished to recognise any persons who had helped or contributed to the Council’s work this year and asked Members if they were aware of any such individuals to put them forward for a gift.

It was also noted that a corporate gift had been sourced from local suppliers for each member of staff.