On a motion by Councillor McArdle, seconded by Councillor Johnston, it was –

Resolved – That Councillor Foulkes be appointed to the Chair of this Sub-Committee.

Members are asked to consider whether they have personal or prejudicial interests in connection with the item on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state what they are.

Members of the Committee were requested to declare whether they had an interest, either personal or prejudicial, in the item on this agenda and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of such interest.

No such declarations were made.

Further to minute 9 of the Employment and Appointments Committee (9/6/11) and the decision taken to appoint a permanent Director of Adult Social Services, the Director of Law, HR and Asset Management submitted a report on the options to be considered in the recruitment and selection process for this appointment, including, how the Council could best utilise employment consultants and a timetable for the recruitment and selection process.

The Chair commented upon the need to involve service users and user groups in the appointment process as it would be good to expose potential appointees to the post to service users and user groups.

Members also commented upon the need for a handover period between the new appointee and the Interim Director and the Head of HR and OD agreed that she would look into the options which could be available.

The Head of HR and OD stated that the CQC could not recommend any particular consultants to be used but it was suggested that an advert should be placed in the specialist social services publication, Community Care, along with other national media publications. She also commented that it would be wise in using consultants for the search, for them to follow through in assisting with the longlisting and shortlisting too. A list of proposed consultants was circulated to the Committee.

After some discussion on the recruitment process it was then –

Resolved –

(1) That the indicative timetable for the recruitment process be agreed and the Head of HR and OD come back to the Sub-Committee Members with some specific dates.

(2) That the Job Description, Person Specification, advert design and placement be delegated to the Chief Executive, Head of HR and OD and the Interim Director of Adult Social Services in full consultation with the three party spokespersons.

(3) That the choice of consultants and the extent of their use be delegated to the Chief Executive and Head of HR and OD in full consultation with the three party spokespersons. That the requirements of the consultants would be to look at innovative ways of attracting and selecting a range of candidates for the role.

(4) That the Head of HR and OD arrange training for Members on interview techniques in advance of the selection days.