Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

Tina Boggins sent her apologies. 

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting

The notes of the meeting held on 5 December 2016 were agreed by the members present and signed by the Chairman. 

To discuss any matters arising from the previous meeting

None. 

P O’Day updated the group on the Health & Safety issues facing the Council.  He said that a prosecution of Health and Safety issues at Cupid Green was looking likely.  A review of Health & Safety (H&S) issues was undertaken by Corporate Health & Safety (CH&S) and identified 12 work streams that need attention (See attachment). Each had been given to an Assistant Director to lead. 

He said that he would only go through some of the key areas of risk, but would also forward a copy of the 12 work streams, to ensure that it would be included within the Minutes, so that the Committee were fully aware of all the work streams.  He said that all areas were ongoing; some would take longer than others, meaning that they would conclude at different times. 

Lone Working - P O’Day said this was progressing well; training was being carried out by Reliance and The Suzy Lampugh Trust.  Staff who have been identified as lone working (i.e. visiting 3^rd Party sites alone) are to be given a lone working device and attending the training mandatory. Managers will be given a report on usage every month by Reliance this will identify who has used or not used the device, how many amber alerts or red alerts have been raised and by who.

Noise at work/whole body vibration – a specialist survey has been conducted. For whole body vibration (WBV) a few items equipment used by CSG and the cemeteries are just over the actions levels. Requests have been made of the teams to monitor the usage of these vehicles throughout the day.  For noise, this too identified some areas were the lower exposure action value (80dB) was exceeded and a few areas of work were above the upper exposure action level (85dB).  This included the Old Town Hall.

Adventure playgrounds – following inspections a number of items of equipment were defective, there is some ongoing work to deal with the immediate issues and work is looking at more longer term options.

Councillor Taylor said that the ongoing court case appeared to be taking longer than expected, and asked when it was expected to be concluded.  P O’Day said that they can take up to three years to prosecute but it was up to the Health and Safety Executive. 

Councillor Taylor also asked P O’Day to clarify exactly how many items of equipment had issues with whole body vibrations.  P O’Day explained that it was not just a simple number as the risk of the equipment was calculated on the level of vibrations, the length of time it was being used.  Councillor Taylor asked for clarification about the number of vehicles at Cupid Green where the vibration levels presented a risk.  Again, P O’Day said that a similar calculation needed to be applied to these vehicles (level of vibration/length of use).  Councillor Taylor accepted this explanation.  P O’Day also confirmed that these calculations were being collected, and inputted as data to see  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

A Stunell began by updating the committee that the new People Strategy scheme had been launched.  Similarly to P O’Day, she said that she would only go through some of the key action points. There was to be an ongoing review of the programme’s effectiveness. 

The first area is our Leading in Dacorum programme and mandatory training.  The intention was for it to be skills based training, supporting managers and for aspiring managers.  There is also a separate project with emphasis on coaching and mentoring, with the view to creating a wider coaching culture.  A Stunell confirmed that as part of this scheme, she was currently in the process of completing her own coaching qualification, which she completes in October. 

Alongside this, HR are in the process of moving forward with the Investors in People (IIP) accreditation.  DBC are currently on IIP 5, but are carrying out work to with a view to gaining the new standard IIP 6.  The strategic assessment for this is due to take place in March 2018.  A Stunell noted that this was quite expensive, at a cost of £13k.  She said that the cost of this needed to be considered against the work being done as part of the People Strategy that was being developed, and to weigh up the value. 

Councillor Chapman asked A Stunell whether the intention of the coaching training was a set plan or taking a more ‘ad hoc’ approach to supporting staff.  She re-iterated that she was currently working on her own coaching qualification; however there were only a limited amount of trained staff in the organisation.  She said that there was a support programme for internal coaching within year 2 of the programme.  They were currently looking at partnering with outside organisations such as Toyota in order to further develop the programme.  Councillor Chapman requested a copy of the People Strategy action plan. 

Councillor Taylor said that the development of aspiring managers must also be balanced against the need to develop all individuals within the council.  He also highlighted the importance of individuals taking responsibility of their own development, particularly long serving individuals.  A Stunell agreed. 

The appraisal scheme was also being reviewed as part of the People Strategy to ensure that it fitted the vision and values of DBC.  Matt Rawdon was leading on this project; consideration was being given to whether the system was fit for purpose? Did it motivate both managers and employees? Spot checks were being carried out on various managers’ appraisals to consider the general standard of them currently. 

A Stunell also highlighted an ongoing CMT strand, reviewing Workforce Data; this was to review key strategic trends in the workforce (e.g. turnover, sickness) to ensure that ongoing business needs were met. 

A Stunell said that Reward and Recognition was also being reviewed as part of the People Strategy; focusing in particular on the latter part.  As an example of this, she said that management was focusing on recognition of long service and retirement.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

C Plested referred to A Stunell’s earlier point that Tina Boggins was leaving; he said that the union would struggle to replace her.  He had no further update.