Agenda and minutes

The Agenda papers (previously circulated), a copy of which will be attached to the signed Minutes.

Mr A Blagg for Mr J H Smith.

Mr J H Smith gave his apologies.  Mr G J Vickery declared that a close family member received care from the Council.

To authorise the procedure for confirming and signing the Minutes of this meeting.  It is recommended that the Minutes be circulated to Members of the Panel and be signed by the Chairman in light of any comments on their accuracy received within 7 days of their circulation.

RESOLVED: that the minutes of this meeting be circulated to Members of the Panel and be signed by the Chairman in the light of any comments on their accuracy received within 7 days of their circulation.

The Panel will be asked to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following item as it is likely that exempt information relating to any individual will be disclosed and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

RESOLVED: that the public and press be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that if they were present during such consideration it would be likely that there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Section 100(I) and Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 relating to any individual and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

Summary of the Proceedings during which the Public and Press were excluded

(This is a fair summary of the proceedings and there are no exempt minutes)

The Panel on 14 June 2016 authorised the commencement of the recruitment process for the Director of Adult Services (DAS) and the process to be followed. The Panel approved the specifications for the post and the salary range of £112,998 to £124,296 pa for a 37-hour appointment.  The Panel also approved a robust recruitment process to establish a shortlist of candidates for final interview by the Panel.

Following this robust assessment process and interviews the Panel on 22 September 2016 decided not to make an appointment to the post of DAS at that time but to pursue a further recruitment process, and that the interim arrangements would continue pending a future substantive appointment.

In the light of the Panel's deliberations, the recruitment consultant advised that the situation remained unchanged in the market place and there was unlikely to be a different response from the market if it were decided to go out again to advert.   Subsequently the Chief Executive and the Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Adult Social Care discussed the importance within Adult Services to move from interim to permanent arrangements as soon as practicable, both to establish leadership stability for staff, give consistency with partners and consistency through the budget planning process.

The Panel was aware that Sander Kristel, the current interim Director of Adult Services, did not initially apply for the post on a substantive basis, largely to ensure members had the opportunity to secure new talent into the organisation and partly due to his commitment to his substantive Director of COaCH role. This said, and following the Panel decision not to appoint to the DAS role, Sander Kristel subsequently expressed an interest in being considered for the role of DAS on a permanent basis.

The Appointments Etc. Panel duly interviewed Sander Kristel with a view to assessing his suitability for the Director of Adult Services post on a permanent basis. It was agreed that Sander Kristel should be subject to the same assessment process as external applicants had followed (with the exception of the leadership assessment which was seen as unnecessary as he is already substantively a Director within the Senior Leadership Team and has therefore already been subject to this assessment and has demonstrated those leadership attributes in his Director role to date).

A technical assessment was undertaken, and 2 panels were held involving Service Users and Stakeholders, to provide a rounded and comprehensive selection process to assist the Panel's decision.  The Appointments etc Panel then interviewed Sander Kristel.

RESOLVED:

(a)  that the permanent post of Director of Adult Services be offered to Sander Kristel subject to formal written offer; and

(b)  the Chief Executive be authorised, in consultation with the Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Adult Social Care, to settle the detailed terms of the contract of employment for him.