The Minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2024 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Committee received the proceedings of the Local Joint Forum (LJF) meetings held on 8 October 2024.

The Committee considered a report explaining that the Constitution of the Council set out the role of the LJF and that this was reviewed regularly. The membership of the LJF had been amended at the LJF meeting on 6 June 2024 (Minute 6 refers) in respect of Trade Union membership  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The Committee considered a report on the approval of a Zero Tolerance Policy, a copy of which was appended to the report.

The report explained that the implementation of the draft Policy would affect all customers and staff. It explained how the Council might respond, adapt or restrict access to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The Committee considered a report presenting four Employment Policies which had been reviewed jointly and agreed with the Joint Trade Unions. The following documents were attached to the report:

The report included  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

The Committee considered a report that provided the annual update on delivery of the Inclusion and Diversity Strategy. A copy of Strategy was attached to the report at Appendix 1, a year one plan update was attached at Appendix 2 and the year 2 delivery plan was attached to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

The Committee considered a report that set out the staff survey outcomes and action plan.  Detailed results from the staff survey were attached to the report at Appendix 1.

The report explained that the Council regularly ran a staff survey to understand the views of staff about working for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

The Committee considered a report on the work under development to encourage staff to speak up when they were aware of errors, poor practice or behaviours, or improvements that could be made.

The report explained that the Council had established procedures and policies for whistleblowing, staff supervision, one-to-ones, exit interviews,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

The Committee considered a report that provided a summary of Special Severance Payments that had been made between 1 April 2024 and 30 September 2024.  The report did not include termination costs for schools-based staff and stated that there had been no early retirements on the grounds of efficiency and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.