1. The Committee considered each of the recommendations 1-7 set out in the Ernst and Young report “Review of anonymous whistleblowing statement” (and also detailed below in italics for ease of reference).  Each recommendation was introduced by Paul Evans (Assistant Director, Corporate Governance) with further comments as needed from Dean Shoesmith (Joint Head of Human Resources), and then discussed by Members.

Recommendation (1) That the Council should review the use of single price quotation forms, particularly in respect of the justifications required to be documented and the approval process for their use, and report back to the Committee in June;

Recommendation (2) That officers should report all prospective interim and consultancy positions to HR and that HR should be responsible for maintaining a central database of all prospective and live roles filled by interim and consultancy appointments; and that a mechanism is built in to allow monitoring of this register at Member level;

Recommendation (3) That HR should challenge departments on their use of long term interim and consultancy appointments (over six months), the rates which are being paid and ensure that external recruitment is considered;

Recommendation (4) That HR should be involved in any recruitment process, including the recruitment of interim managers;

Recommendation (5) That Council should review its interview process and the policy on the number of interviewers required, including in relation to the appointment of interim managers;

Recommendation (6) That the Council should review its policy on declarations of interest to include personal friendships; and

Recommendation (7) That the Council should communicate to all Council officers any revisions it makes to its procurement policies.

2. Recommendation (1) – Paul Evans highlighted that in future it was proposed that any exemptions from Contract Standing Orders would need to be signed off by the Head of Commercial Services in addition to the Director of Corporate Services, which would mean that managers would need to discuss the appropriateness of any proposed exemption in advance with the Head of Commercial Services. 

2.1 Paul Evans confirmed that the failure of a manager to forward plan would not be a justifiable reason to use the exemption process; and that the use of the exemption process would need to be monitored.

2.2 Members noted that the proposed guidance to mangers included a statement in bold block capitals “PLEASE NOTE AN EXEMPTION CAN ONLY BE GRANTED IN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES” (as shown on agenda page 83) but were concerned that managers were made aware that exceptional does mean exceptional circumstances such as an emergency or where normal processes hadn’t produced the necessary results.  The Committee agreed that the wording of the guidance to managers on exemptions to Contract Standing Orders be reinforced (as shown below), and Paul Evans confirmed that this could be done.

3. Recommendations (2), (3) & (4) – There was extensive discussion of the proposed response to these recommendations relating to the recruitment of (temporary) interim or consultancy staff, and particularly the requirement for HR to be involved in any recruitment process including for such appointments.

3.1 Paul Evans advised that there would be a monthly monitoring report to managers on the recruitment of interim or consultancy staff, and suggested that there be also reports to Members through the quarterly monitoring reports to Cabinet and scrutiny..  The Committee agreed that there be reports to General Purposes Committee starting with its next meeting in September, until further notice.  Paul Evans indicated that the report in September would allow the Committee to decide the subsequent frequency of submission of such reports.

3.2 In response to queries, Dean Shoesmith advised that -
(a) the proposed new system would give a comprehensive breakdown of “on” and “off” contracts placement of temporary workers in the Council,  “On contract” being through Comensura the Council’s main agency workers supplier and also the London Borough Recruitment Partnership (LBRP) for senior interim managers;
(b) systems were being developed to capture the “off contract” supply;
(c) this would give greater confidence in the data for the Council’s overall staff establishment, but that the latter was partly dependent on the completion of the establishment exercise within iTrent (referred to in para. 2.32 on page 79) which would tidy up iTrent so as to reconcile posts, budget and establishment; and
(d) the first technical assessment of the iTrent exercise was due to be done by end of July, which would enable a better estimate for the completion time for the iTrent exercise, but that pending that assessment, whilst no firm timescale could be given, the current estimate for completion of the iTrent exercise was September 2014 or later.

3.3 Margaret Culleton (Head of Audit and Investigations) confirmed that Internal Audit during 2014/15 would be reviewing the new database (for recruitment/establishment), including checking whether it captured all posts/personnel; and that the results would be reported to General Purposes Committee. 

3.4 Members reiterated their concern that all managers complied with the new proposals for recruitment of interim or consultancy staff, and in particular that HR be involved in any recruitment process including for such appointments.

3.5 Paul Evans advised that the current figures for “off” contracts were 14 agency placements, and 4 self-employed placements and 6 “on contract” from the London Borough Recruitment Partnership (used for senior interim managers).

3.6 Reference was made to the last sentence of para. 2.32 (on page 79) which stated that “The HR function will also be enabled to challenge directorate managers on the use of interims over time and the effectiveness of permanent recruitment, and provide support as required.”  The Committee agreed that the word “enabled” should be changed to read “required”.

3.7 Reference was made to the last sentence of para. 2.24 (on page 7) which stated that “The independent consultant should not generally cover the duties of a post, rather they are engaged to undertake specific project work within a defined task and outcomes for a defined time period.”  In response to a suggestion that the word “generally” should be deleted, Caroline Holland (Director of Corporate Services) advised that the word should be retained as there could be occasions when an independent consultant may need to be used. 

3.8 No change was made to the wording but Members reiterated their concern that any use of consultants should only be in exceptional circumstances.

4. Recommendation (5) – Paul Evans highlighted that any short listing panel would now need to consist of a minimum of two people (as detailed in para.2.3.5 on page 80).  The Committee made no changes in relation to this recommendation.

5. Recommendation (6) – Paul Evans highlighted the proposed changes to policy on declarations of interest to include personal friendships and where any situation arose where there was the potential for a conflict of interest staff were required to notify their line manager .  The Committee made no changes in relation to this recommendation.

6. Recommendation (7) – Paul Evans highlighted that, subject to the proposed changes to procurement and recruitment systems being approved, there would be a special managers briefing in July 2014, with a view to implementation from 1 September 2014 (as detailed in para.2.40 on page 81).  The Committee made no changes in relation to this recommendation.

7. Submission to Council – Paul Evans confirmed that the proposed changes to the procurement part of the exemption process would need to be submitted to Council for approval.

RESOLVED: That in response to the recommendations 1-7 set out in the Ernst and Young report “Review of anonymous whistleblowing statement”, the General Purposes Committee agrees the changes and actions set out in the report for implementation and recommendation to Council where necessary,

subject to the following -

Recommendation (1) – The wording of the proposed guidance to mangers on exemptions to Contract Standing Orders be clarified to reinforce that an exemption can only be granted in exceptional circumstances, and that exceptional does mean exceptional circumstances such as an emergency or where normal processes couldn’t be used.

Recommendations (2), (3) & (4) – Monitoring reports on the recruitment of interim or consultancy staff be submitted to General Purposes Committee. starting with its next meeting in September, until further notice. 

In the last sentence of paragraph 2.32 (on page 79) the word “enabled” be changed to read “required” so that the sentence reads as follows
“The HR function will also be required to challenge directorate managers on the use of interims over time and the effectiveness of permanent recruitment, and provide support as required.”