Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

It was resolved to exclude the public and press from the remainder of the meeting by reason of the nature of the business to be discussed which included information exempt from publication by virtue of paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

The Panel received a report from the Acting Chief Executive on the proposed establishment of a new post of Director of Care, Community and Health Integration, together with proposals to fill current / impending vacancies within the senior leadership structure.

The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a new legislative framework aimed at facilitating greater collaboration within the NHS and between the NHS, local government, the voluntary and community sector and other partners.  A key element was the creation of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and the new place-based partnership approach also introduced additional statutory responsibilities and commitments for the Strategic Director, Children and Adults, the Acting Chief Executive and the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration, as well as impacting on other service areas within the Council on issues such as unemployment, commissioning and healthy lifestyles. 

The new Director role would act as the Council’s ICS strategic lead, responsible for helping to shape the ICS plans both locally and across the North East London region, driving service changes to deliver agreed priorities and providing additional capacity in support of the statutory officers and the Cabinet Member.  The intention was that the post would be created for an initial fixed term of 18 months, during which time the Acting Chief Executive and the Strategic Director, to whom the postholder would jointly report, would reassess the future needs of the service.

With regard to the current / impending vacancies within the senior leadership structure, the Acting Chief Executive confirmed that the Strategic Director, Inclusive Growth had tendered her resignation and would be leaving the Council in December.  The posts of Operational Director, Enforcement and Community Safety and Operational Director, Adults’ Care and Support were both vacant having previously been filled via interim appointments. 

In respect of the Strategic Director, Inclusive Growth post, it was proposed that the recruitment of a permanent replacement be commenced without delay and, in the meantime, an interim appointment for up to 12 months be made.  The Operational Director posts would be advertised as interim posts only for up to 12 months, pending a full review of the responsibilities of the posts in light of external and internal changes and challenges. 

Panel Members discussed the advantages and disadvantages associated with interim appointments, particularly in view of the changes over the past couple of years within the Senior Leadership Team, and the approach to filling interim Director-level posts through internal recruitment in the first instance as a means of providing Heads of Service with the opportunity to demonstrate, with the appropriate support, an ability to step-up to a higher level.  In response, reference was made to the Council’s employment and recruitment policies and the very challenging recruitment market at the present time.  The Acting Chief Executive also expanded on a number of potential changes to service provision and structures over the coming months in light of the raft of new legislation and statutory requirements impacting on local authorities, all of which supported the plans to make  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.