These are draft minutes that have not yet been approved by the council. The minutes are subject to change and will be confirmed at the next meeting.
P25/001 PRESENT
Councillors Dalzell, Gardiner, Banks, Coan, Forrest, Hartley and McCulloch
A Keppel-Green (Town Clerk).
P25/002 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
All members were present.
P25/003 DECLARATIONS OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS
No member declared an interest in any item.
P25/004 CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
It was RESOLVED to confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 6th May 2025.
P25/005 REVIEW OF YEAR-TO-DATE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
The year to day committee income and expenditure was noted.
P25/006 STAFF REPRESENTATIVE
The Events Manager spoke in relation to a number of items on the agenda, expressing staff support for the revised recruitment policy noting its positive impact on morale and career progression and that staff are cognisant it never guarantees success in an internal vacancy; that they appreciate the proposed stronger role for the staff representative, that staff support an increase in the training budget noting that specialist training is more expensive than generalist training, that staff support the revised grievance policy particularly promoting informal resolution and a stronger time-frame for resolving grievances. The Events Manager further encouraged all members to undertake the sexual harassment awareness training.
P25/007 SUB-COMMITTEE MINUTES
The minutes of meetings of the grievance sub-committee and appeals sub-committee were noted.
P25/008 RECRUITMENT POLICY
The Town Clerk reported that the item had been tabled on the recommendation of a sub-committee in accordance with the council’s standing orders on repeat business.
It was RESOLVED to approve the revised policy.
P25/009 STAFF REPRESENTATIVE ROLE
It was RESOLVED to support the planned changes to the staff representative role that they be able to deputise another member of staff when they are unable to attend, and the planned involvement in meeting preparation procedures.
P25/010 APPRAISAL PROCESS
The council’s appraisal policy and self-appraisal questionnaire was noted; it was noted that personal development plans were being introduced for all staff.
It was agreed that:
- There should be an annual review of appraisal processes
- A guidance note on the self-appraisal questionnaire should be prepared
- Reference to ‘failure’ should be removed from the self-appraisal questionnaire
P25/011 GRIEVANCE POLICY
It was RESOLVED to approved the revised policy, but that section 5.1 (training requirement) come into force once the scheduled training has been completed.
P25/012 AMENDMENTS TO DIGNITY AT WORK POLICY
It was RESOLVED to approve the revisions to the policy.
P25/013 COMMITTEE BUDGET 2026/27
The Town Clerk reported a correction to the Tax/NI budget figure for 2026/27.
It was RESOLVED to recommend that the Finance Committee consider a suitable reserve to provide resilience in the event of unforeseen percentage increases on NJC pay spines.
It was RESOLVED to approve the draft budget.
P25/014 OUTSTANDING ACTIONS AND PROJECT UPDATES REPORT
The report was noted. The Town Clerk particularly encouraged the remaining members of the committee who had not completed the sexual harassment awareness training to do so.
P25/014 COMMITTEE WORKPLAN
The committee workplan was noted.
P25/015 DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
It was noted that the next scheduled meeting will be held on 8th December at 7:30pm.
P25/016 STAFFING OVERVIEW REPORT
It was RESOLVED to exclude the public and press on the grounds that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.
It was requested that Bradford Factor figures be reinstated on reports. The committee discussed the Town Clerk’s flex write off.
P25/017 ANNUAL SALARY PROGRESSION
It was RESOLVED to approve annual salary progression with effect 1st April 2026 as outlined in the report.
P25/017 PERSONNEL MATTERS
No matters were raised.