The People, Performance and Development Committee agreed to recommend that the council approve an updated version of its Officer Code of Conduct at its next meeting. They also discussed a number of staffing matters and reports that are due to be considered at future meetings.

Officer Code of Conduct

The committee discussed a report on proposed updates to the Surrey County Council Officer Code of Conduct ¹. The updated code includes references to the council's new Bullying and Harassment Policy and its commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

During the discussion, Councillor Tim Oliver, the committee chair, raised concerns about officers corresponding directly with elected members of other councils. He suggested that all such correspondence should be conducted through divisional members. He asked that:

...consideration be put into this when reviewing the Code of Conduct or Member / Officer Protocol...

This suggestion was agreed to by the committee.

Councillor Oliver also raised concerns expressed by members of his group about the council's EDI policy. He said that:

...there are some very difficult subject areas particularly around women's rights that do need to be aired and we do need to be seen to be airing them...

He went on to argue that:

...the more people that look at things the more different perspectives that look at things the more likely we are to come up with something that is is truly EDI rather than something that has a particular bias or influence around it...

These concerns were echoed by other members of the committee.

Councillor Mark Nuti, who is the cabinet member for resources, said that the council's EDI policy had not been a priority for the resources select committee.

Councillor Denise Turner-Stewart expressed concern about the potential impact of a public debate on the council's EDI policy, saying:

...there are strong views on them so we do need to kind of find a way through this...

She suggested that the committee invite the chair and vice chair of the resources select committee to a future meeting to discuss the policy in more detail.

Responding to these concerns, Shella Smith, the council's director of people and change, said that the council's policy is based on existing good practice and reflects the council's legal obligations:

...we can't just create a policy out of thin air we we do have to adhere to the law of the land which is what we're doing with this staff policy and we've taken consultation from people who formulate that in central government as well as external consultants...

She went on to explain that the policy does not make any changes to the existing rules on the use of toilets by transgender people, saying:

...there is no law of this land to say that I cannot use a female toilet should I wish to do so...

She agreed to bring the policy back to a future meeting of the committee for further discussion.

Local Government Association Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Peer Review

Shella Smith informed the committee that the LGA's peer review of the council's EDI policy was complete, but that three further reviews of the impact of the policy on the workforce were still ongoing. These reviews are intended to gather information on the impact of the council's EDI policy on staff with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 ². She agreed to bring a progress report on the reviews to the committee's meeting on 15 July 2024.

Future Agenda Items

Councillor Oliver asked Shella Smith to include a report in the committee's forward work programme on:

...the number of interims employed or contracted, agency staff and consultants.

He specified that the report should include:

...data from our joint venture with Kent Commercial Services...

Smith agreed to produce this report for a future meeting of the committee.