Agenda item

Verbal update from invited officers

Updates to outstanding Internal Audit recommendations were provided by the Strategic Director of Communities and the Head of Human Resources and Organisation Development.

A discussion followed the update from the Strategic Director of Communities. Concerns were expressed about a lack of response and the timeliness of implementation for asbestos-related improvement, but members were assured by the update and the progress made to ensure the Council were managing asbestos effectively on an operational level. In addition, the Strategic Director of Communities had put in place a more robust process to keep on top of Audit trackers.

It was explained that due to current data being fragmented, officers had decided to resurvey all properties and build a new digital, accessible system which will include regular resurveys.

Staffing concerns were raised. The Strategic Director of Communities informed the Committee that recently the service had now in place a fully recruited housing management team and new repairs management; in particular some of the new recruits were external candidates that may bring new views on service progression.

It was explained to the Committee that asbestos in homes was in secure locations and was safe if undisturbed, and the Council managed asbestos in situ which was the recommended approach. Tenants receive asbestos information packs on tenancy commencement or swap. If a property was sold, the new owner received the information pack, but the Council had no control over changes of ownership beyond that point.

The Strategic Director of Communities was thanked for the update and the chair introduced the Head of Human Resources and Organisation Development who provided an update.

Concerns were raised about internal audit recommendations going back a long time. It was explained by the Audit manager that owners of audit recommendations could choose to accept risks and not implement recommendations, but that would be clearly communicated to the Audit Committee.

Members enquired about apprenticeships in the Council. The Head of Human Resources and Organisation Development informed the Committee that there were 4 internal and 2-3 external apprentices, with the plan to implement succession planning for hard-to-fill roles and external funding was being explored to employ more.

In response to a member asking what assurances could be given to employees during the process of devolution, the Head of Human Resources and Organisation Development explained that although assurances couldn’t be given, the Council were updating candidate packs, providing FAQs to hiring managers and most roles were unlikely to be affected by the local government reorganisation.

The Head of Human Resources and Organisation Development informed the Committee that development of a new recruitment dashboard was being undertaken to provide better oversight to managers and the Corporate Leadership Team.

A member sought assurance regarding pensions to which the Head of Human Resources and Organisation Development informed the Committee that there were no confirmed plans of changes being made to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The LGPS was highlighted as being attractive to applicants, with contributions of 27-28%, and that changes to this would likely impact recruitment and retention but this was highly unlikely.

The Head of Human Resources and Organisation Development was thanked for the update and members were thanked for their comments.