Agenda and draft minutes

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Cllr Simon Geraghty was elected Chairman.

Councillor Marcus Hart was elected Vice- Chairman.

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 press and public be excluded 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.

The Chief Executive reported that the Council’s current Chief Financial Officer had resigned and his employment with the Council was due to end in March 2023. 

The Chief Financial Officer was a critical role in the Council's senior leadership team and was responsible for leading financial management across the County Council in addition to being the Officer Responsible for Financial Administration (Section 151) in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (as amended).

The post of Chief Financial Officer reported directly to the Chief Executive, and it was proposed that this arrangement would continue. The Panel reviewed and approved the Job Description and Person Specification for the post.  It also agreed the recruitment process, where longlisting and shortlisting would be carried out by the Chief Executive and the Leader as relevant Cabinet member with advice from the Assistant Director for HR, OD and Engagement.  Technical support would be sought via a S151 Officer independent of the Council.

It was expected that there would be a short-term requirement to fulfil the 151 statutory officer responsibilities.  It was recommended that Steph Simcox, the current Deputy Chief Finance Officer, fulfilled the statutory 151 officer responsibilities for the period between the departure of the current Chief Financial Officer and until the permanent appointment was made and the successful candidate commenced their role.

RESOLVED that the Panel

(a)  noted the departure of the current Chief Financial Officer in March 2023;

(b)  appointed Steph Simcox to temporarily fulfil the statutory 151 Officer responsibilities between the departure of Michael Hudson and until the successful candidate commenced employment in the permanent post;

(c)  approved the job description and authorised the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Assistant Director for HR, OD and Engagement, to proceed with a recruitment exercise for the permanent post of Chief Financial Officer at the earliest opportunity, including the shortlisting process set out in the report, noting that appointment to the permanent post will be a decision for the Panel at a future date.