Agenda and minutes

To approve as correct records, the Minutes of the meeting of the Sub-Committee held on 25 July 2013 and to authorise the Chairman to sign them

The Minutes of the meeting of the Sub-Committee held on 25 July 2013 were accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

On a motion by the Chairman the Sub-Committee RESOLVED:

That the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting on the grounds that it was likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if members of the public were present during those items there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

The Committee interviewed two applicants for appointment to this position.  It carefully considered their respective merits and satisfied itself as to their competency by reference to their written profiles, oral presentations and the answers to questions concerning the role and by wider questioning. 

Members then considered their wider attributes.  As only two candidates had been presented for interview, the Sub-Committee’s choice was limited but it was unanimous in its recognition that the calibre of the candidates was high – and acknowledged the work of the Director and Consultant in managing the selection process.  The Sub-Committee also acknowledged that the final assessments – by various groups including co-workers, partners and heads of service with whom the successful candidate would be working – had been very thorough.

The Sub-Committee accepted that each candidate had presented a strong case and noted that whilst one candidate demonstrated strong strategic skills, the other focused on service delivery and as this was the core feature of the role, the Sub-Committee had no hesitation in deciding which of the two excellent applicants it would appoint.  The Sub-Committee was informed that references had been received and were excellent.

Accordingly, the Sub-Committee RESOLVED TO APPOINT Catherine Dempsey, currently Child Protection Officer at the London Borough of Camden subject to the notification provisions of paragraph 12 of the Staff Employment Procedure Rules set out in part 4 of Havering’s Constitution as she had demonstrated that she had the requisite experience, skills and knowledge to discharge the duties of to the position of Principal Social Worker.