Policy And Resources Committee - 08/03/2004

At a MEETING of the PERSONNEL COMMITTEE held at Dundee on 8th March 2004.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

BAILIE C D P FARQUHAR, Vice-Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 16th February, 2004 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I DEPUTATION - NURSERY NURSES STRIKE

The Committee acceded to a request from representatives of the Nursery Nurses to address the Committee in support of the Nursery Nurses Strike Action. After the deputations had stated their cases and answered questions from members of the Committee, they were thanked for attendance and withdrew. It was noted that informal talks with the Nursery Nurses would continue on 9th March, 2004.

II PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT - PARKING SECTION STAFFING STRUCTURE

On a reference to Article III of the minute of meeting of the Planning and Transportation Committee of 2nd December 2002, there was submitted Report No 139-2004 by Director of Planning and Transportation seeking Committee approval to establish the initial Staffing Structure for the Car Park operations in order to implement and operate the decriminalisation parking enforcement arrangements with effect from 1st April 2004.

The Committee approved the Staffing Structure and gradings for the Parking Section in the Planning and Transportation Department as detailed in Appendices A and B of the report.

III HOUSING DEPARTMENT - SUPPORTED TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION PROJECT

There was submitted Joint Report No 93-2004 by the Director of Housing and Assistant Chief Executive (Management) seeking approval for the establishment of a supported temporary accommodation project including the establishment of posts. The Committee agreed to approve:-

(i) the establishment of three posts of Assistant Housing Officer, graded GS3 (13,650 - 14,211);

(ii) the establishment of a part-time post of Assistant Housing Officer, graded GS3 (13,650 - 14,211).

IV SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT - DEVELOPING SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH MENTALHEALTH ISSUES

There was submitted Joint Report No 89-2004 by the Director of Social Work and Assistant Chief Executive (Management) seeking approval to develop the social work team within NHS Tayside's Centre for Child Health by establishing posts of Senior Social Worker and Social Care Officer, to supplement the work currently undertaken by two existing posts of Social Worker.

The Committee agreed to approve the establishment of the following posts for a fixed term period of two years:-

(i) One post of Senior Social Worker, grade PO3-6 (27,015 - 28,578);

(ii) One post of Social Care Officer, Residential Grade SCP16-23 (14,535 - 17,340);

V CORPORATE PLANNING DEPARTMENT - TRANSFER OF POST

There was submitted Agenda Note AN92-2004 advising the Committee than in order to assist the Assistant Chief Executive (Community Planning) in meeting the demands of the Community Planning agenda, a Senior Policy Planning Officer was seconded to the Department from the Social Work Department for an initial period of eight months from 1st August, 2003 to 31st March, 2004.

As a result of the increasing complexity and demands upon the department, the Assistant Chief Executive (Management) and the Director of Social Work agreed that the post and postholder should be transferred to Corporate Planning. The postholder is in agreement with this proposal.

The Committee approved the transfer of the post of Senior Policy Planning Officer from Social Work to Corporate Planning, having noted that the cost of this proposal in a full financial year would be met from a transfer of budget from the Social Work Department.

VI PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT - EMPLOYMENT DISABILITY UNIT - EXTENSION OF FIXED TERM POST

There was submitted Agenda Note AN93-2004 making reference to Article XII of the minute of meeting of this Committee of 10th March, 2003 wherein the Committee approved changes to the establishment of the Employment Disability Unit (EDU) including the establishment of a fixed post of Support Worker, grade AP3, currently 17,340 - 19,029 for a period of 12 months.

As a result of an increase in the number of disabled people being referred to the EDU, the Committee agreed to approve an extension of this fixed term Support Worker post until 31st March, 2005, having noted that the cost of this proposal would be 22,513, inclusive of employer's costs, in a full financial year and would be funded by the Government's Workstep Programme.

VII EDUCATION DEPARTMENT - ESTABLISHMENT OF POST OF HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFICER (EDUCATION)

There was submitted Agenda Note AN94-2003 seeking consideration of the establishment of a post of Health and Safety Officer (Education) to co-ordinate all health and safety matters in the Education Department. The postholder would be located within the Property Services Section.

The requirement for this post had arisen as a result of the need to address the Governments Revitalising Health and Safety" strategy. Education is the largest department in the Council employing over 2,600 employees in a wide and diverse range of work activities. The Director of Education and the Assistant Chief Executive (Management) were of the view that, in order to meet the department's obligations, a dedicated Health and Safety Officer would be required to assist management develop a structured approach to health and safety management.

The postholder would address the requirements of Council health and safety policies and guidance to develop operational procedures for effective implementation within the department. The postholder would also be required to consider Education Guidance issued by the Scottish Executive which may have implications for health and safety management and practice. A key task for the postholder would be the delivery of health and safety training and the development of risk assessment within the department. This post would ensure that the Education Department could develop and establish a cohesive approach to risk management to improve accident rates and improve occupational health as is required by "Revitalising Health and Safety".

The Committee approved the establishment of a post of Health and Safety Officer (Education), grade PO5-8, 27,873 - 30,060, having noted that the cost of this proposal would be 34,840, inclusive of employer's costs, in a full financial year. This would be met from the department's Revenue Budget.

VIII INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIVISION - REDESIGNATION AND REGRADING OF POSTS

There was submitted Agenda Note AN95-2004 advising the Committee that the IT Team Leader (Projects) and the IT Team Leader Support (Information Security) had recently submitted applications for regrading. The Head of Information Technology also asked the Assistant Chief Executive (Management) to review these posts together with the post of IT Team Leader (Software). The exercise had been completed and the following information was provided for the Committee's consideration.

The post of IT Team Leader (Projects) was established 4 years ago when National Grid for Learning began. Originally, a team of 4 was set up. Since then, the volume of equipment involved had significantly exceeded the expected level. As a result, it had proved necessary to establish a further 10 Assistant ICT Officers (one in each secondary school) and all of these employees report to the Team Leader. In addition, 2 other employees who previously provided desk-top support had been moved to this team which now provided a comprehensive IT service to all schools.

As the use of the Internet had increased, security had become a major issue. A year ago, a dedicated post of IT Team Leader Support (Information Security) was created to address security. Since then, the role had expanded, covering corporate as well as departmental responsibilities. The vigilance required to prevent hacker intrusion and virus attack was enormous and required to be provided by a senior officer with the skills, experience and authority to ensure that the Council's infrastructure was adequately protected.

The development of e-government and the corporate ICT strategy has necessitated more cross-departmental working, and more links with external agencies. The Social Work Department is heavily involved in this work and had been assisted by the IT Team Leader (Software). Recently, 4 other employees had been added to the development team to establish links to Education, Communities and Housing systems, and to deliver links to Health. In addition, a new system was about to be written for Social Work and this major development had already added considerable responsibility to the Team Leader post.

In view of the employees' increases in responsibility, not only in terms of the number of people managed, but also in overall terms, the Committee agreed to:-

(i) redesignate the post of IT Team Leader (Projects) to IT Section Leader (Projects);

(ii) redesignate the post of IT Team Leader Support (Information Security) to IT Section Leader (Information Security);

(iii) redesignate the post of IT Team Leader (Software) to IT Section Leader (Software);

(iv) regrade all three posts from PO7-14, 29,313 - 34,554, to PO11-18, 32,244 - 37,833.

The cost of implementing these proposals would be 3,126, inclusive of employer's costs, in a full financial year and this could be met from the department's Revenue Budget.

IX SUPPORT SERVICES DEPARTMENT - DISTRICT COURT - REGRADING OF POSTS

There was submitted Agenda Note AN107-2004 advising the Committee that the Assistant Chief Executive (Management) had reviewed the duties and responsibilities of the post of Clerical Assistant/Bar Officer which is based at the District Court.

Having considered the job description for this post, the Assistant Chief Executive (Management) recommended that it be regraded from GS2/3, 12,789 - 14,211, to GS3, 13,650 - 14,211.

There would be no financial implications arising from this recommendation.

The Committee agreed to approve the proposal.

BAILIE C D P FARQUHAR, Vice-Convener.