DELEGATED POWERS REPORT NO.

1487

SUBJECT: Creation of a temporary post combining the Heads of Service posts for Libraries and Customer Services Control sheet All of the following actions MUST be completed at each stage of the process and the signed and dated report MUST be passed to Governance Service for publishing
All reports 1. Governance Service receive draft report Name of GO Date 2. Services cleared draft report as being constitutionally appropriate Name of GO Date Name of Fin. officer Date Name of Res. officer Date Name of TU rep. Date Name of Legal officer Date Name of P&P officer Date Name of officer Date Name Date Name of GO Date Name of GO Date Name of GO Date Sarah Laws 27 October 2011 Andrew Nathan 25 October 2011 Andrew Nathan 25 October 2011 Richard Grice 26 October 2011 Chidilim Agada 31/10/11 Chidilim Agada 31/10/11 Chidilim Agada 31/10/11 Chidilim Agada 31/10/11 Debbie Edwards 26 October 2011 Jo Bird 26 October 2011 -

3. Finance clearance obtained (report author to complete) 4. Staff and other resources issues clearance obtained (report author to complete)

5. Trade Union response received (Staffing issues only) 6. Legal clearance obtained from (report author to complete) Policy & Partnerships clearance obtained (report author to complete) Equalities & Diversity clearance obtained (report author to complete) The above process has been checked and verified by Director, Head of Service or Deputy (report author to complete)

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10. Signed & dated report, scanned or hard copy received by Governance Service for publishing 11. Report published by Governance Service to website Officer reports: 12. Head of Service informed report is published and can be implemented. Cabinet Member reports: 13. Expiry of call-in period 14. Report circulated for call-in purposes to BMOSC members & copied to Cabinet & Head of Service

Chidilim Agada 31/10/11 Not applicable Not applicable

Date Name of GO Date Date

ACTION TAKEN UNDER DELEGATED POWERS BY OFFICER (COUNCIL FUNCTION)

Subject

Creation of a temporary post combining the Heads of Service posts for Libraries and Customer Services. Assistant Chief Executive

Officer taking decision

Date of decision
Summary

21 October 2011
This report proposes to combine two current Heads of Service posts (Head of Libraries currently vacant and Head of Customer Services) on a temporary basis in the period up to completing procurement of a Customer Service Organisation Partner. It ensures the continued delivery of change programmes in both service areas while freeing up resource to support customer services transformation. Richard Grice, Assistant Director of Customer Services and Libraries Public All None

Officer Contributors Status (public or exempt) Wards affected Enclosures Power being exercised

Contact for further information: Richard Grice, 020 8359 2002 Serial No. 1487

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RELEVANT PREVIOUS DECISIONS None. CORPORATE PRIORITIES AND POLICY CONSIDERATIONS The temporary creation of this post will support the Councils priorities in the Corporate Plan 2011-2013 of Better services with less money through its leadership of implementation of key change programmes for customer services and libraries. RISK MANAGEMENT ISSUES Failure to create this post will have a substantial negative effect on delivery of the library change programme and would absorb resource that will instead be used to accelerate transformation of the Councils customer services activity. I do not consider the issues involved are likely to raise significant levels of public concern or give rise to policy considerations. EQUALITIES AND DIVERSITY ISSUES Under the Equality Act 2010, the council and all other organisations exercising public functions on its behalf must have due regard to the need to: a) eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act; b) advance equality of opportunity between those with a protected characteristic and those without; c) promote good relations between those with a protected characteristic and those without. The relevant protected characteristics referred to in s149 are: age; disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex sexual orientation. It also covers marriage and civil partnership with regard to eliminating Discrimination There are no specific adverse equalities and diversity issues directly generated by the creation of this post. USE OF RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS (Finance, Procurement, Performance & Value for Money, Staffing, IT, Property, Sustainability) There are no ICT or property implications The post is funded from within current budgets and releases funding to provide management support to the Councils customer services transformation activities. The post has been evaluated by Human Resources using the Hay Job Evaluation

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scheme at SCP 235 to 238, 69,591 to 75,336. 6. 6.1 LEGAL ISSUES Any recruitment will be carried out having regard to the Councils employment law duties. CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS The Councils constitution in Part 3, Responsibility for Functions, paragraph 6.1 states that Chief Officers can take decisions in all matters where they have managerial or professional authority. The Councils constitution in Part 3, Responsibility for Functions, paragraph 6.2 states that Chief Officers may use whatever means they consider appropriate to discharge the functions allocated to them including engaging and deploying staff. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Promotion of the Councils Head of Libraries has created a vacancy in that role. This presents an opportunity to combine the Head of Libraries post with the current Head of Customer Services post, which will: create senior management efficiencies by increasing a Head of Service span of control (both existing Head of Libraries and Head of Customer Services posts will be held vacant while this fixed-term post exists); ensure senior management of both customer services and libraries remains in place during a period of considerable change for both services rather than experiencing a hiatus; and, critically free up resource from within current budgets that can be focussed on delivery of the Customer Services Transformation Programme (CST) The post will be established for fifteen months. The saving from combining the two posts will be used to recruit senior management support to the Customer Service Transformation Programme. LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS None. OFFICERS DECISION I authorise the following action 10.1 To create the post of Head of Customer Services and Libraries graded SCP 235 to 238 on a temporary basis for up to fifteen months.

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Signed

Julie Taylor Assistant Chief Executive

Date

31 October 2011