Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Walford and Watling, and the Executive Head of Human Resources.

There were no disclosures of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2022 to be submitted and signed.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2022 were agreed and signed.

Report of the Head of Finance

The committee received a report of the Head of Finance which consolidated the decisions of this council and the two precepting bodies.

The Head of Finance introduced her report and advised that officers had received notification of the decisions from the precepting authorities, Hertfordshire County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner regarding their required amounts of Council tax.  The report combined these figures with that agreed by Watford Borough Council on 31 January 2023 to give a total Council Tax for 2023/24.

In accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 the votes were recorded as follows:

Those voting in favour of the recommendations:

Councillors Allen-Williamson, Dychton, Johnson, Shah and Watkin.

There were no abstentions or votes against the recommendation.

RESOLVED –

That the total Council Tax for Watford Borough Council, which includes the precepts for Hertfordshire County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, as set out paragraph 4.2 of the report, be formally set.

Report of the Executive Head of HR

The committee received a report of the Executive Head of Human Resources, which included the statement providing details of the profile of Watford borough Council’s workforce from 1 October 2021 to 30 September 2022.

The Director of Partnerships introduced the report and advised that if members required any further information he would ensure this was provided to them after the meeting once he had contacted the Executive Head of Human Resources.

Following a question about the results of the analysis by disability, the Director of Partnerships explained that it was difficult to fully understand the situation as 54.5% of employees had chosen not to answer the question.  He advised members that employees were not mandated to complete the equalities information, but were encouraged to provide the data.

Councillor Watkin asked whether the council had compared its response rate on this data with other local authorities.  He wondered whether other authorities had better response rates and, if they did, how they achieved it.

Members requested the following information:

•       The report did not contain reference to temporary or agency staff or staff on short term contracts. How many staff, who had been with the council for more than 6 months, were in these categories and what percentage of the workforce did they make up?

•       The key performance indicators referenced in the report, were these set locally or nationally?

•       How did our response rates compare with other local authorities?

•       If there were any local authorities with high response rates, how did they achieve those rates?

•       Equalities data was submitted when applicants applied for a job with the council; was it possible to transfer this information to the new employee’s council records?

•       What was the year-on-year data trend on employees providing this information?

The Director of Partnerships confirmed he would ensure members were provided with the information.

RESOLVED –

That the Workforce Monitoring report be noted and approved.