Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

M Nix offered his apologies on behalf of D Lloyd to the Committee.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting; minutes to follow.

There were no minutes. The Chair confirmed they would be available at the next meeting. 

To discuss any matters arising from the previous meeting

None. 

Emma Walker to provide Committee with a verbal update.

E Walker updated the Committee on the Health & Safety issues being managed by the Council. She confirmed that P O’Day had left DBC on 1 December. She said that recruitment to his role had been unsuccessful, but advised that his interim replacement was Hayley Ramsay. E Walker said that the post would be advertised in the New Year.

She said that work was continuing in the following twelve work streams, with a thirteenth recently added:

Lone working

E Walker said that companies were being invited in to demonstrate lone working devices (which would also be trialled) for the re-tender process for following year.

Adventure PlayGround

E Walker told the Committee that unannounced audits would be conducted in Q1 to ensure that working practices were fully absorbed and being put into practice, and that the appropriate documentation was correctly completed.

Vehicle Repair Workshop (VRS)

E Walker said that Corporate Health and Safety had assisted S J Smith in reviewing lifting equipment risk assessments and implementation. She said that several Skilled Technicians posts would be recruited in January 2018.

Noise

E Walker said that the newly drafted ‘Noise at work’ policy had been approved by CMT on 7 November; it had been communicated to the relevant service areas.

E Walker said that Clean, Safe & Green (CSG) equipment had been assessed; new ear defenders had been purchased and the majority of the equipment could be used without reaching the Noise action levels. She said that, with the exception on the chainsaws, the equipment would require monitoring to ensure they were not used for excessive time periods by a single operator.

She also said that Old Town Hall sound absorbing foam panels were to be installed in the DJ’s booth.

Whole Body Vibration

E Walker told the Committee that the ‘Whole Body Vibration’ policy had also been approved by CMT on 7 November. Again, this had been circulated to the relevant service areas.

Contractor Safety

E Walker told the Committee that work continued to progress on this especially with regard to CDM projects. She said that three areas had been focused; on Pre Tender, Tender Award and Contract Monitoring.

Occupational Health

E Walker said that four companies had put forward submissions for tender for the new contract; this process was ongoing. A meeting was due to take place the following week with E Walker, A Stunell and M Rawdon to discuss the tenders.

Asbestos Management

E Walker advised the Committee that the draft ‘Asbestos Management’ plans had been submitted to the forthcoming Corporate H&S Committee for approval in the near future.

Training:

Awareness of Health & Safety Risk Assessments: E Walker said that two courses had been run and feedback was very positive.

Introduction to Manual Handling: E Walker said that three courses have been run. Feedback was very positive.

Sharps Training: One course had already taken place; another was due to take place on 6 December (Conference room 2) at the Forum starting 10:00am to 12:00noon.

Legionella Awareness Training: E Walker advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

Anne Stunell to provide Committee with a verbal update.

A Stunell updated the Committee on the various ongoing aspects of The People Strategy.

Apprenticeship Levy Board.

A Stunell said that the Board was still meeting on a monthly basis. She confirmed that three apprentices were due to start/commence their courses; this was with Customer Services in December and HR in January; a gardener was also due to start with CSG team. A Stunell said that HR had conducted a review to see what qualifications DBC most needed and the Board were keen to ensure that the budget was being correctly spent in line with this.

Investors in People (IiP)

A Stunell said that following the submission of the paper to CMT that proposed not to continue with the IiP scheme (due to the significant continuation costs which could be £7k - £13k,and that much of the reaccreditation proposals were already covered within The People Strategy), CMT had asked for more information, specifically as to what other Councils were doing. A Stunell said that this research had been completed, and that she would be scheduling a meeting with the CEO to discuss whether this should be continued. 

Sickness Absence

A Stunell said that the review of the Sickness Absence policy was still ongoing; there had been a number of negotiations with the TU’s, and drafts/redrafts were still being exchanged. She said that following discussion with M Brookes, Solicitor to the Council, although there were no significant changes, it was felt that it needed to go through the full Council process of consideration by CMT, Cabinet and Council.  A Stunell said that R Smyth, Director of Performance, People and Innovation, would shortly be presenting to CMT, with the view to this being placed on the Forward Plan for Cabinet.

Recruitment

A Stunell told the Committee that the review looking at how recruitment was conducted was still ongoing. She said they were looking at how DBC’s attracts potential staff, specifically looking at social media, and how DBC brands itself. She said that Kelvin Solely was leading on this strand, with a member of the HR team consulting.

Training

A Stunell said that the Coaching & Mentoring Strategy was ongoing; she said that she had been in discussions with East of England LGA as they have a Coaching Pool. They had been due to send a survey on her behalf, however this did not happen and so this had been put back. A Stunell said that the purpose of this was to ensure that DBC were mindful of other successful schemes, rather than drafting from scratch. She reminded the Committee that she was continuing with her own coaching qualification, and of its use to staff.

A Stunell said that the mandatory training for ‘Leading in Dacorum’ had also being reviewed, specifically looking at e-learning. As a result, she said that a lot more courses had been added.

In addition to this, A Stunell said that another area of review was the training for Member Development. She said that a great deal of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

M Nix re-iterated that meeting was due to take place with the members within the following days at Cupid’s Green. He confirmed that there was no further update.

The meeting ended at 7:10pm.  The Chair thanked all Committee members for attending.