Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors T A Bond, M R Eddy and J M Heron.

It was noted that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, Councillors B Gardner and P Walker had been appointed as substitute members for Councillors J M Heron and M R Eddy respectively.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 13 November 2018, 4 December 2018, 15 January 2019 and 12 February 2019 (to follow).

The Minutes of the meeting held on 13 November 2018, 4 December 2018 and 15 January 2019were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Please note that in accordance with the agreed Protocol for Public Speaking at Overview and Scrutiny, the right to speak only applies to agenda item 11.

The right of the public to speak does not apply to the following agenda items: Apologies, Appointment of Substitute Members, Declarations of Interest, Minutes, the Forward Plan, the Scrutiny Work Programme, any agenda item that is not accompanied by a written report and items that are exempt business.

Members of the public wishing to speak must register to do so by no later than 2.00 pm on the second working day before the meeting.

The Democratic Services Manager advised that no members of the public had registered to speak on items on the agenda to which the public speaking protocol applied.

The following decisions were taken by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 4 March 2019 in respect of recommendations from the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee:

·         Grant of Easement Over Matthews Close Ditch, Deal

Members received the decisions of the Cabinet relating to recommendations made by the Committee.

RESOLVED:  That the Cabinet decisions relating to recommendations from the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee be noted.

There were no items of business.

(a)    Items placed on the agenda by a Member of the Committee or any individual Non-Executive Member

       Any individual Councillor may request that a matter is placed on the agenda of one of the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committees by providing Democratic Support with notice of the matter prior to the agenda being published.

       There are no items for consideration.

(b)    Items the subject of Call-In

       Executive Decisions may be called-in by the Chairman or Spokesperson of the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee or any three non-executive members.

       There are no items for consideration.

(c)    Public Petition

       There are no items for consideration.

There were no items of business.

The Democratic Services Manager presented the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions to the Committee for its consideration.

RESOLVED:   That the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions be noted.

The Democratic Services Manager presented the Scrutiny Work Programme to the Committee for its consideration, noting that the rolling work programme for May 2019 onwards would be determined by the Members of the post-election Committee.

Members were advised that the scrutiny of academisation of schools in Deal was not able to proceed as representatives of DEALT were unwilling to attend a public meeting of the committee and there were not sufficient grounds to hold a meeting in private.

RESOLVED:  That the Work Programme be noted.

To consider the attached report of the Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service).

The Head of Governance presented the Gender Pay Gap report.

Members were informed that the information was a snapshot of the organisation up to 31 March 2018. The mean hourly rate of pay of male pay across all grades was £17.08 compared to £15.64 for female pay across all grades. The median hourly rate of pay of male pay across all grades was £15.56 compared to £14.21 for female pay across all grades.

The Council had a job evaluation scheme which ensured that men and women were paid equally for the same work and the differences in the figures reflected the distribution of men and women across the Council.

Members emphasized the importance of the figures being presented in an accessible format to Members and also the public. It was suggested that a comparison to other east Kent authorities and similar size councils would also benefit the report.