Agenda and minutes
Venue: Scaitcliffe House, Ormerod Street, Accrington. View directions
Contact: Ben Caulfield, Policy and Scrutiny Officer
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Apologies for absence, Substitutions, Declarations of Interest and Dispensations Minutes: There were apologies for absence from Councillors Joyce Plummer and Scott Brerton. Councillor Bernard Dawson substituted for Councillor Scott Brerton.
Apologies were also received from Co-optees Richard Downie and Doug Hayes.
There were no declerations of interests or dispensations. |
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Minutes of Last Meeting The minutes of the meeting on 17th October 2023 were submitted for approval as a correct record. No questions were raised.
Resolved - That the minutes of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 17th October 2023 be approved as a correct record.
Minutes: The minutes of the meeting on 17th October 2023 were submitted for approval as a correct record. No questions were raised.
Resolved - That the minutes of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 17th October 2023 be approved as a correct record.
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Chair's Update To receive a verbal update from the Chair of the Committee regarding any matters previously sent to Cabinet or Council for consideration. Minutes: The Chair provided a verbal report. At the Council meeting in November, Doug Hayes, Richard Downie, Miles Parkinson and Stacy Walsh were appointed as Co-optees to this Committee. The Chair welcomed them and spoke briefly on their role.
It was also reported that at the same Council meeting, Councillor Judith Addison had been appointed to this Committee in place of Councillor Josh Allen. |
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People Strategy Update To inform the Committee of progress made against actions in the current People Strategy.
To inform the Committee of a draft new People Strategy to cover the period of the new Corporate Strategy.
To share the results of the 2023 Employee Survey.
Recommended - That progress and proposed actions are noted and any further suggestions regarding the proposed People Strategy given to the Head of Policy and OD.
Additional documents:
Minutes: The Chair welcomed Kirsten Burnett, Head of Policy and OD to the meeting to present this item.
Kirsten summarised the report and highlighted the following:
- Learning and development - Apprenticeships - Workforce equality - Employee survey results - Recruitment and retention difficulties - Replacement HR/Payroll system
She also drew attention to the appendices to the report, which included an update on the Council’s People Strategy and the 2023 Workforce Report.
The Chair thanked Kirsten for the report. The following questions and detailed responses and were submitted and answered.
To what extent are skills shortages and recruitment an issue for the Council? Is it a corporate problem or service specific?
Answer: It is service specific, especially in teams such as planning, legal and environmental health, as outlined in the report. This has become more difficult in the last decade or so with public sector pay restraint meaning that salaries have not kept pace with the public sector. Also, reduced funding has meant that teams cannot afford the costs of additional trainee posts, although in some cases this has been the only option and managers have worked creatively to grow our own in many cases. This same issue applies right across local government, meaning there is a simply far more competition for people. For example, some research by the Local Government Chronicle, reported in May 2023, showed that only 1 in 10 planning departments were fully staffed. The increased ability of remote working has expanded opportunities for people to find better paid alternatives.
Staff turnover has increased. Why is this? What are the Council doing to improve staff retention?
Answer: It has increased significantly in the last financial year. We have had a number of staff who have decided it is time for them to retire – there is a theory that the pandemic made people reflect on what’s important to them and what they want from work and their lives. Members may have read or heard about the so called “Great Resignation”. With cost of living increases far exceeding pay awards, people have also looked for jobs which pay higher.
A survey reported in People Management Magazine in May of this year showed the total labour turnover rate at 22.5 per cent, compared to 14.6 per cent in 2021. Some of our leavers have had incredibly long careers with HBC and some retirements were well past 65. Looking at the staff for this period, nearly half have been employed by Hyndburn for over 10 years, a quarter of all staff for over 20 years, and 10% for over 30 years.
I have looked for comparator info and note that RVBC had gone up to 26.69% over the same time period. The committee should note that we do have several instances of people returning to HBC after a short period elsewhere.
Does the Council do exit interviews to establish why staff are leaving? Of the staff that resign, is there a breakdown of reasons given?
Answer: We offer an exit questionnaire ... view the full minutes text for item 229. |
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The purpose of the report is to be provide the Committee with an overview of problems and issues associated with derelict buildings and the powers that are available to the Council.
Recommended - That the Committee note the report and is invited to comment and ask questions arising from the report. Minutes: The Chair welcomed Councillor Kath Pratt and Zak Khan, alongside Mark Hoyle, Head of Regeneration and Housing to the Committee to present this item.
Mark provided a brief overview and highlighted the wider subject area which this covered. He provided some background to the typical types of building found in Hyndburn, with many industrial type buildings built many years ago which are large, no longer fit for purpose and expensive to modernise, many of which have listed building status.
Councillor Khan reported that his role as Portfolio Holder for Economic Development was more focussed on commercial property rather than residential. Ultimately, the biggest issue with derelict commercial buildings as they are the responsibility of the owners, and the vast majority of buildings of this nature are in private ownership. His long term goal is for the Council to create an environment which encourages private investment in these buildings, and he is actively working with a number of businesses who are looking to relocate. He wants to meet with empty building owners and is arranging this. He said that the Levelling Up investment in Accrington should be a trigger for further private investment, but the Council needs to be more proactive rather than reactive to commercial building related issues.
The following questions were submitted by members and responded to as follows:
Does the Council have a strategic plan for dealing with derelict properties?
Answer: The Council has a new Empty Property policy which will be considered by Cabinet early in 2024.
Which buildings does the Council view as a priority to resolve and what if any action is taking place?
Answer: The highest priority is afforded to unsafe buildings. Building Act legislation is used and is referred to in paragraph 3.9 of the report. For housing standard issues and derelict non-housing property the priority properties are the ones which we receive service requests (complaints) from residents, elected members and the Member of Parliament. The other priority is those that are a regeneration priority such as the Burton’s building in the town square which forms part of the town centre levelling up project. The Council serve a variety of enforcement notices in relation to empty properties. The main legislation used is listed in paragraph 3.9 of the report. Where the above measures have been undertaken and the property issue is still not resolved or the property remains empty the Council will look at further enforcement action, namely:
In addition this year the Council has taken prosecution cases against 6 properties. The Council has also successfully enforced the sale of 163 Manchester Road, Accrington.
Does the Council still employ an empty properties officers? Can you summarise their role? Answer: The Council employs one empty property officer. The key duties are summarised as follows:
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