The General Purposes Committee of Wandsworth Council was scheduled to consider proposed staffing variations across several departments and a proposal to rename the Performance Review Sub-Committee. The meeting's agenda focused on administrative and departmental operational matters.

Proposed Staffing Variations

The committee was scheduled to review a report from the Head of Human Resources detailing proposed staffing variations across various departments. These variations were linked to reports submitted to other committees and required the approval of the General Purposes Committee. The proposals included:

• Children's Services Department: A recommendation to approve the deletion of one full-time equivalent (FTE) post of SSU Administrator. This deletion follows an officer-led review in the Safeguarding Standards Service aimed at streamlining processes and improving efficiency. The current postholder would be counselled in accordance with the Council's Redundancy and Redeployment Agreement.
• Environment and Community Services Department:
  • A proposal to create 2.71 FTE fixed-term posts for a four-year period, related to the Wandle Landscape Scheme.
  • A recommendation to delete 7.6 FTE posts as part of a review of the department's overall structure. The roles identified for deletion included Team Leader (Health & Safety), Team Leader (Special Projects), Executive Assistant, Senior Environmental Services Officer (Food Team), Principal Environmental Services Officer, Senior Planner (Conservation and Design Team), Head of Finance & Support Services, and Principal Engineer (Highways). Some of these posts were vacant, while others were occupied.
• Housing Department: A recommendation to extend one FTE fixed-term post of Sub-Regional Empty Property Officer until 31st March 2015. This extension is intended to help the Council maximise the use of available capital funds from a recent successful bid for sub-regional funding for empty homes activity. The post is funded by residual funds from the former Targeted Funding Stream.
• Adult Social Services Department: A proposal to create two FTE temporary posts for a period of five months. These posts are a result of the implementation of a zero-based review of national adult social care data collections. The grades of these temporary posts would be determined according to the Council's Job Evaluation Scheme.

The Staff Side had been consulted on these proposals, and any comments received were to be reported to the Committee. The full details of each report concerning staffing implications were available on the Council's website.

Performance Review Sub-Committee: Re-naming

The committee was scheduled to consider a report from the Chairman of the Performance Review Sub-Committee proposing a change to its name. The current name, Performance Review Sub-Committee, was deemed no longer to adequately reflect the full extent of the sub-committee's remit.

The report indicated that the sub-committee's terms of reference had been expanded. Previously, they were confined to setting targets for and assessing the performance of the Chief Executive and Director of Administration and the Director of Finance and Deputy Chief Executive under the Council's performance-related pay arrangements for chief officers. However, following revisions to the Council's Annual Pay Policy Statement in May 2013, which incorporated guidance from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government regarding severance pay for officers, the sub-committee's remit was broadened. It now also includes the determination of staff severance packages exceeding £100,000. All such decisions are to be reported to the General Purposes Committee and the full Council.

Therefore, the proposal was to rename the sub-committee as the Chief Officer Remuneration & Compensation Sub-Committee to better reflect its expanded responsibilities.