MINUTES

OF THE MEETING OF THE

Organisational Effectiveness POLICY AND SCRUTINY PANEL

Thursday 27th November 2003

HELD AT THE TOWN HALL, WESTON-SUPER-MARE, SOMERSET.

Meeting Commenced: 6.00 p.m. Meeting Concluded: 8.45 p.m.

PRESENT: Councillors Bob Steadman (Chairman), Felicity Baker (Vice-Chairman), Ian Baker, Derek Kraft (substitute for Councillor Glyn Duck), Muriel Kraft (substitute for Councillor Richard Tucker), Barry Walters

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Councillors Glyn Duck, Richard Tucker, James Tonkin

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Councillor Bob Cook

ORG 7

Minutes of the Meeting held on 3rd September 2003 (Agenda Item 4)

RESOLVED: that the minutes of the meeting be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

ORG 8

Purchasing Policy (Agenda Item 6.1)

The Chairman reported that the Director of Finance and Resources was unwell and would present his report on Purchasing Policy and Strategy to the next meeting.

ORG 9

Procurement Practice in Highway Services (Agenda Item 6.2)

The Director of Development and Environment’s representatives presented an oral report. The presentation included the following topics:

· Procurement & Monitoring of Highways Contract

· Current Procurement

· Monitoring Quality

· Supervision & Feedback

· Performance Monitoring

The officers then responded to queries relating to specific contracts.

The Chairman thanked the officers for their comprehensive presentation

ORG 10

Human Resources Issues in North Somerset (Agenda Item 6.3)

The Head of Performance Improvement and Personnel presented an oral report. Among the topics covered were the following:

· Corporate Personnel Structure

· Current Legislation

· Human Resources Strategy

· People Management & Development

· Improving Performance

The Head of Performance Improvement and Personnel then responded to questions and queries from the Panel. The Panel also discussed its role in the development of the new Human Resources Strategy.

Members considered that managers should be encouraged to attend relevant training courses to help equip them with the skills to successfully recruit, develop and manage their staff and that Corporate Personnel should establish arrangements to assess managers’ competences in these areas. The Head of Performance Improvement and Personnel was asked to investigate a monitoring procedure to ensure that managers did undertake the necessary training.

The Chairman asked the Head of Performance Improvement and Personnel to give a presentation on Single Status to the next Panel meeting to be held in January.

ORG 11

Work Plan

Although the Work Programme did not appear on the agenda for this meeting the Chairman suggested that Emergency Planning, Temporary Staffing, and Vacancy Management be included on the Panel’s Work Plan for discussion at subsequent meetings.

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Chairman

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