Agenda item

Notices of Motion

i)     Councillor Roberts to propose and Councillor Haque to second:

 

“Northampton Borough council is committed to being the best employer we can be and to set the standard for other local employers.

We therefore to commit to refreshing our employment procedures to include an updated policy on family friendly working.

It can be hard to balance the needs of family with those of employer but it’s in everyone’s interests to get the balance right.

There are several family-friendly working options to consider, including parental leave and flexible working arrangements. Flexible working can include working part-time, job sharing, shift working, working school hours, staggering time and working from home.

As an employer we are keen to help staff find the right work/life balance because we want them to be productive and focused on work, getting the best possible outcome for our service users.

Parental leave and flexible working arrangements are two ways to make work more family-friendly.”

 

ii)    Councillor B Markham to propose and Councillor Beardsworth to second:

 

“In September 2018 this council expressed its concern about the number of new housing developments that were failing to transfer highways facilities or open spaces to the relevant local authority but instead were establishing management companies with no democratic oversight.

In order to protect residents from uncontrolled charges and poor levels of service the council would like to see Highways and open spaces on new estates built to the standard required by local authorities.

The Council therefore requests that the Planning Department introduces a Supplementary Planning Guidance requiring developers to build infrastructure on new developments to local authority standards to facilitate the transfer to the appropriate local authority.

The council also request that consideration is given to introducing appropriate policies to achieve these aims in Part 2 of the local plan that is currently being prepared for submission to a planning inspector.”

 

iii)   Councillor Beardsworth to propose and Councillor Meredith to second:

 

This Council recognises the importance of retaining good members of staff over the next 15 months to ensure that skilled staff are available to transfer to a new Unitary authority to continue to provide good local government services to the residents of Northampton.

The Council has HR policies and procedures in place but these need to be understood and adhered to to achieve the goal of retaining good members of staff.

The Council recognises that a number of good members of staff left the authority towards the end of 2018 and their knowledge and skills have been lost to the future Unitary authority.

The Council requests that the Chief Executive reviews the departure of members of staff in the final quarter of 2018 to decide if the current policies and procedures are as strong as they should be and to assess whether Managers, Supervisory staff and Councillors require training to understand their role implementation these policies to ensure that good staff are retained.”

 

iv)   Councillor Stone to propose and Councillor Nunn to second:

 

Northampton has a strong and proud history of manufacturing, including its boot and shoe trade and heavy to medium engineering.

 

Despite the demise of such important companies such as British Timken, Express lifts, Northampton Machinery Co, RHP Bearings and Plessy, we do still have centres of excellence with Cosworth, AMG Powertrain, Churches shoes, Trickers and many others.  

 

This Council is already very pleased to buy products and services from many local companies, and as part of continually seeking to get best value for the local taxpayer, is keen to work with more local companies and employers.

 

There are now two national campaigns to promote manufacturing, the GMB Union “Making it” and “The Made in Britain” which is run for manufacturers.

 

This Council therefore recognises both of these campaigns, and agrees to promote their membership to local companies, along with continuing to encourage potential manufacturers to site within the town.  The Council will, wherever possible and cost effective, use local suppliers to support the local economy.”

 

v)    Councillor B Markham to propose and Councillor Beardsworth to second:

 

“The Council is undertaking a Community Governance Review with the intention of establishing two tiers of local government across Northampton when the new Unitary arrangements come into force.

 

This will constitute a major change to the way that services are delivered to local communities and the level of council tax that households are expected to pay.

 

This Council therefore expects that in any literature provided to the public, setting out proposed new Parish Council arrangements, will detail the service provision from the new council and clearly state the anticipated Parish Council precept which will be additional to the existing level of council tax.

 

The Council also requests that any ballot of the public includes the option to be part of a Town wide Council as an interim step towards the longer term development of new two tier local government arrangements across Northampton.”

 

vi)   Councillor King to propose and Councillor Larratt to second:

 

“The Disability Confident scheme, run by the national government, promotes a disability-inclusive culture among employers across the UK.

The scheme helps employers:

 

·                      draw from the widest possible pool of talent

·                      secure high quality staff who are skilled, loyal and hard working

·                      improve employee morale and commitment by demonstrating that all employees are treated fairly

 

Disability Confident employers are changing behaviour and cultures within their organisations, networks and communities. Northampton Borough Council is serious about equal opportunities and proud of its proven track record of being an Equal Opportunity employer and, as such, it already carries out numerous actions to make a difference for disabled people. Nevertheless, we are aware this is only a part of a much broader journey.

 

Therefore, this motion calls on the Council to commit to signing up as Disability Confident Committed and taking the necessary steps to become a Disability Confident Employer, playing an active role in changing attitudes for the better.

 

Under the Disability Confident scheme, this Council will further commit to carry on learning and strengthening the networks it will need to continue to improve its offer to existing and future disabled employees.”

Minutes:

i)             Councillor Roberts proposed and Councillor Haque seconded:

 

Northampton Borough council is committed to being the best employer we can be and to set the standard for other local employers.

We therefore to commit to refreshing our employment procedures to include an updated policy on family friendly working.

It can be hard to balance the needs of family with those of employer but it’s in everyone’s interests to get the balance right.

There are several family-friendly working options to consider, including parental leave and flexible working arrangements. Flexible working can include working part-time, job sharing, shift working, working school hours, staggering time and working from home.

As an employer we are keen to help staff find the right work/life balance because we want them to be productive and focused on work, getting the best possible outcome for our service users.

Parental leave and flexible working arrangements are two ways to make work more family-friendly.”

 

Councillor Nunn proposed and Councillor Eldred seconded an amendment.

 

Amended motion to read:

 

“Northampton Borough council is committed to being the best employer we can be and to set the standard for other local employers.

 

It can be hard to balance the demands of modern life and needs of family with those of an employer but it’s in everyone’s interests to get the balance right, and Northampton residents deserve to be served by council staff that feel valued and engaged with their work, and therefore provide the best service they can.

 

We therefore continually refresh our employment procedures, and these include the existing policies that the council has on Parental Leave and Paternity Leave, and our Career Break Policy that is currently supporting staff including one employee who’s long-term serious illness would otherwise have meant them having reduced pay, but who is still receiving full pay consistent with our commitment to the TUC ‘Dying to Work’ charter.

 

The council also operates family-friendly working, which (whilst never losing sight of the service to be provided to residents) not only allows parental leave and flexible working arrangements, but flexible working, part-time, job sharing, working school hours, and staggering time.

 

Working from home is part of modern work patterns, and this is allowed, with a review currently under way to ensure that this, and flexible working, is clearly defined.”

As an employer we are keen to help staff find the right work/life balance because we want them to be productive and focused on work, getting the best possible outcome for our service users, and council reaffirms its commitment to this.”

 

Council debated the amendment.

 

Upon a vote, the amendment was carried and became the substantive motion.

 

Council debated the substantive motion.

 

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.

 

The Mayor noted that within accordance to Part 4 (4.2) of the Constitution, motion ii) had been withdrawn.

 

iii)           Councillor Beardsworth accepted an alteration to the original motion as published on the agenda. The altered motion was seconded by Councillor Meredith.

 

Council agreed to the altered motion debated below:

 

This Council recognises the importance of retaining good members of staff over the next 15 months to ensure that skilled staff are available to transfer to a new Unitary authority to continue to provide good local government services to the residents of Northampton.

The Council has HR policies and procedures in place, which of course need to be understood and adhered to, in order to achieve the goal of retaining good members of staff.

The Council recognises that there will always be staff who choose to move on, but during the past 18 months, in order to make NBC an attractive place for good staff to work, has:

·         Reduced the standard work hours from 40 to 37, to be competitive with other employers, with part-time staff reducing their by the same percentage if they chose to.

·         Removed the no pay for the first day of sickness

·         Improved various HR policies

·         Used the discretions policy on sick pay to honour commitments under the TUC ‘Dying to work’ charter

·         Anticipates a likely 2% pay award for 2019/20

·         Enhanced staff discounts and benefits arrangements

·         Maximised the use of apprenticeships and the apprenticeship levy

·         Transferred a significant proportion of the interim contract staff to more permanent types of fixed contract arrangements

·         Recruited a Learning and Development Manager to support personal development

·         Brought the HR service back in-house to be closer to the employees that it supports

Council thanks its hard working staff for their dedication to supporting the town and serving its residents, and reaffirms its commitment to ensure that NBC is an attractive place for good staff to work.”

 

Council debated the motion.

 

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.

 

iv)           Councillor Stone proposed and Councillor Nunn seconded:

 

“Northampton has a strong and proud history of manufacturing, including its boot and shoe trade and heavy to medium engineering.

 

Despite the demise of such important companies such as British Timken, Express lifts, Northampton Machinery Co, RHP Bearings and Plessy, we do still have centres of excellence with Cosworth, AMG Powertrain, Churches shoes, Trickers and many others.  

 

This Council is already very pleased to buy products and services from many local companies, and as part of continually seeking to get best value for the local taxpayer, is keen to work with more local companies and employers.

 

There are now two national campaigns to promote manufacturing, the GMB Union “Making it” and “The Made in Britain” which is run for manufacturers.

 

This Council therefore recognises both of these campaigns, and agrees to promote their membership to local companies, along with continuing to encourage potential manufacturers to site within the town. The Council will, wherever possible and cost effective, use local suppliers to support the local economy.”

 

Council debated the motion.

 

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.

 

Mr David Huffadine-Smith addressed Council and explained that parish councils could provide many services that a large authority could not, and hoped that the Council would seek to create parish councils wherever possible.

 

v)            Councillor B Markham accepted an alteration to the original motion as published on the agenda. The altered motion was seconded by Councillor Beardsworth.

 

Council agreed to the altered motion debated below:

 

“The Council is undertaking a Community Governance Review with the intention of establishing two tiers of local government across Northampton when the new unitary arrangements come into force.

 

This will constitute a major change to the way that services are delivered to local communities and the level of council tax that households are expected to pay in the currently unparished areas of the Borough.

 

This Council therefore expects that in any literature provided to the public, setting out proposed new Parish / Town Council arrangements, will detail the options for service delivery by the new councils and give an indication as to the initial precept / council tax that will be levied, while recognising that going forward this will be a matter for the elected members of the new councils.”

 

Council debated the motion.

 

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.

 

vi)           Councillor King proposed and Councillor Larratt seconded:

 

“The Disability Confident scheme, run by the national government, promotes a disability-inclusive culture among employers across the UK.

The scheme helps employers:

 

·         draw from the widest possible pool of talent

·         secure high quality staff who are skilled, loyal and hard working

·         improve employee morale and commitment by demonstrating that all employees are treated fairly

 

Disability Confident employers are changing behaviour and cultures within their organisations, networks and communities. Northampton Borough Council is serious about equal opportunities and proud of its proven track record of being an Equal Opportunity employer and, as such, it already carries out numerous actions to make a difference for disabled people. Nevertheless, we are aware this is only a part of a much broader journey.

 

Therefore, this motion calls on the Council to commit to signing up as Disability Confident Committed and taking the necessary steps to become a Disability Confident Employer, playing an active role in changing attitudes for the better.

 

Under the Disability Confident scheme, this Council will further commit to carry on learning and strengthening the networks it will need to continue to improve its offer to existing and future disabled employees.”

 

Council dabated the motion.

 

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.