Agenda item

The Chief Executive, Mr Ade Adetosoye, attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Committee. A written update for the Committee had been circulated as part of the agenda papers.  Mr Adetosoye responded to questions.  The following points were raised:

·  The Committee thanked the Chief Executive for his comprehensive and detailed report.

·  Members discussed the local arrangements being put in place for the Coronation of King Charles III.  The Chief Executive highlighted that the Local Authority should be proud of the preparations that had already been put in place.  The necessary measures were in place to enable celebrations to take place in green spaces and the necessary flexibility would be applied to facilitate applications.  The Council’s contractor Id Verde had apologised for some of the confusion around the arrangements and the Chief Executive confirmed that processes were now in place to ensure that celebrations for this historic event would run smoothly.

·  In relation to demand management, there was an acute awareness that challenges were growing, especially in front door services such as Children and Families.  The Chief Executive highlighted that the Council had won an award for its work on demand management.

·  Turning to the issue of hybrid working, the Chief Executive reported that in the local context, it was clear that Bromley staff were maintaining levels of productivity seen prior to the pandemic.  There was evidence that staff were working beyond their contractual hours and the Chief Executive had witnessed officers maintaining excellent service delivery.

·  In respect of staff attending the office, the Chief Executive explained that the interface between officers and residents had to be maintained and this required some staff being present in the office.  Staff were, on average, coming into the office 2 to 3 days a week, however, attendance was based on the requirements of the service.  Team Leaders were empowered to establish rotas for office attendance that met the needs of their service.  In due course a staff survey would be undertaken to establish the views of staff regarding the current flexible working arrangements.

·  A Member highlighted the need to ensure that the Council was meeting its duty of care to staff when they were working from home.  It was also noted that the contract of employment for staff cited the Council Offices as the primary base.  There were two sides to this: firstly, staff could reasonably be required to attend the office when necessary; secondly, those staff who wanted to be office based needed to be provided with a suitable desk space and there was a need to ensure sufficient desk capacity following the office move.

·  The Chief Executive highlighted that staff wellbeing remained a priority.  Members noted that at the start of the pandemic HR had undertaken a great deal of work to put in place a comprehensive package of measures to support staff wellbeing.  A wellbeing support document was produced, and it was notable that levels of sickness for those staff working from home had fallen.  Stress risk assessments were conducted, and guidance was in place for home working and health and safety.  Teams were also encouraged to meet in person and Team Leaders undertook regular one to ones.

·  The Committee noted that the review of the constitution was one of the key priorities for the Director of Corporate Services and Governance.

·  Bromley hosts had been incredibly welcoming to Ukrainian families and there had been very few cases of arrangements breaking down.  The Homes for Ukraine Hub had been very successful at providing access to key services and support in one place.  There were Hub models for other services, such as Care Leavers, and options extend this model to other service areas were under consideration.

·  The Council was on target to deliver on its net zero by 2027 target.  Discussions with contractors were ongoing and the Environment and Community Services PDS Committee would be considering whether proposals to extend the net zero target to contractors should be developed.  In terms of the work being done by Council Officers to move towards net zero carbon, the move to the new offices would certainly help.  One of the proposals under consideration was having a single office space for staff working after 5pm.  This would mean that only a small area of the building would need to be powered after 5pm.

·  Targets within the Transformation Programme had been met.  Further savings had been identified for the next financial year and proposals would be presented to Members.  There were 12 key areas of work, including workstreams covering digital transformation and demand management and growth – Early Intervention.

The Committee thanked the Chief Executive for his informative and helpful update.  Members congratulated all staff who had been nominated for awards and thanked all staff for their hard work.