Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Swift and Fletcher.

At this point Members must declare whether they have a disclosable pecuniary interest, or other interest, in any of the items on the agenda, unless it is already entered in the register of members’ interests or is a “pending notification “ that has been disclosed to the Solicitor to the Council.

Members must also declare if they are subject to their party group whip in relation to any items under consideration.

There were no declarations of interest.

   3.1     The minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2012 were approved as a true and accurate record

3.2       The minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2012 were approved as a true and accurate record

          The Committee received a report from the Head of Governance on the introduction of the Data Incident Response Policy (DIRP) and the procedure for employees to follow if a data protection breach occurred and the potential employment implications of a breach.  The draft DIRP had also been discussed and approved at the Audit Committee meeting held on 7 June 2012.

          The Committee received a report from the Acting Head of Human Resources (HR) on the updates to the existing Redundancy Policy which was to include staff employed under teachers terms and conditions of service.  The Policy also made clear that the Council would not agree to a release of pension upon redundancy to teachers.  The proposed changes had been made in consultation with the Joint Consultative Forum (JCF).  

          The Acting Head of Human resources advised the Committee that the Travel and Subsistence Policy had also been amended to provide clear processes for staff to follow when completing a claim form.  This was to ensure complete transparency and clarity was provided for employees and their managers.  In addition to the policy updates there was inclusion of a statement outlining that those who were employed on a Senior Management scale may not apply for the Travel and Subsistence Key User status. 

          The report sought the agreement of the Committee to implement the appended employment policies to ensure the Council’s policies remained up to date and legal.

          The Head of Governance responded to questions from Members in relation to the introduction of the Data Incident Response Policy (DIRP). Key points included:

·         The provision of briefing sessions for Members was an option that could be explored and a specialist lawyer would be invited to provide these briefing sessions. Furthermore, guidance on the DIRP would be sent to all Members in due course;

·         A Data Protection Act Group (DPAG) had been formed, which provided good employee representation, shared the procedures in place and the robust work plan; 

·         Budget provision was available for Member training in relation to the DIRP. Extending the training to other Councils in order to share costs would be beneficial.

          The Acting Head of Human Resources advised Members that the DIRP had also been presented to JCF for their comment and subsequent approval.

          The Head of HR responded to questions regarding the changes to Travel and Subsistence policy. Key points included:

·         Those Officers who qualified for the Travel and Subsistence Key User Allowance would be identified based on their salary and the level of responsibility they held. The salary level would be based on senior managers in receipt of and in excess of £50k per annum;

·         The changes to the Travel and Subsistence Policy had been completed in consultation with the JCF and agreement had been sought from the Forum to include the Key User salary level. This had been agreed;

·         Decisions to approve an Officer as qualifying for Key User Status would be made at Key User Review Panel, rather than at management level;

·         The Key User Review Panel would ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.