There were no apologies of absence for this meeting.

There were no disclosures of interest.

Report of the Executive Head of HR and OD

This report was deferred from the meeting held on 22 February 2024.

The committee received the report of the Executive Head of HR and OD.  The Chair invited the committee to ask questions about the report.

Aspects of the report were praised for some overall improvements while issues, especially around the level of engagement were raised as concerns.  It was felt that the bold and commendable aims and objectives were not reflected in the data collected. 

Frustrations were also raised in relation to an annual report with no comparable data to neighbouring authorities.  It was asked if this data could be obtained.

The Executive Head of HR and OD stated that this could be done.

There was a question raised as to if any reasonable adjustments had been made for Ramadan.  The Executive Head of HR and OD responded that none had been requested.

There was also questions raised about the membership of the Corporate Equalities Working Group, the Executive Head of HR and OD said he would check if members of the working group were happy to reveal personal information, but it was made up of a cross section of the workforce.

It was felt that further conversation was needed in relation to improving staff engagement with the survey, perhaps through incentives being offered.

There was praise for the increased representation among women on the CMB, but it was noted that the CMB included no representation from the BAME community.  It was also recognised that there may be concerns among staff revealing sexual orientation or religion and that there was a major under representation of Jewish [zero] and Muslim [one] members of staff.  It was suggested that jobs could be advertised in religious and community buildings.

RESOLVED –

that the Workforce Monitoring Report is noted.