Attached.

A.   STAFF LEAVING THE COUNCIL

Amendment by Conservative Group CARRIED by 25 votes to 23 with 1 abstention and AGREED as substantive motion by 26 votes to 23 with 2 abstentions.

B.   FLYTIPPING

Amendment by Conservative Group CARRIED by 28 votes to 21 with 2 abstentions and AGREED as substantive motion by 28 votes to 23 with 0 abstentions.

C.   WINDOWLESS BATHROOMS

Amendment by Conservative Group CARRIED by 28 votes to 18 with 5 abstentions and AGREED as substantive motion without division.

D.   CLADDING SCANDAL IMPACT ON HIGH RISE FLATS

Amendment by Conservative Group CARRIED by 26 votes to 24 with 1 abstention and AGREED as substantive motion by 27 votes to 23 with 1 abstention.

E.   RSPCA CAMPAIGN OPPOSING PETS FOR PRIZES

Amendment by Conservative Group CARRIED by 37 votes to 7 with 7 abstentions and AGREED as substantive motion without division.

F.    HONORARY FREEDOM OF THE BOROUGH

Amendment by Conservative Group CARRIED by 26 votes to 25 with 0 abstentions and AGREED as substantive motion by 26 votes to 24 with 1 abstention.

A factual clarification by the Upminster and Cranham Residents Associations’ Group regarding the date of the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting to which a report should be brought, was AGREED without division.

Motion on behalf of the Upminster and Cranham Residents Associations’ Group

In several council departments there are currently significant staffing shortages, apparently primarily caused by high numbers of employees leaving the council. These shortages have in turn led to high volumes of work for the remaining staff in departments such as Highways, where there is a stated wait (as of May 2021) of around nine weeks to repair major potholes, and Planning Enforcement, where there is a backlog of over 750 open enforcement cases.

This Council calls upon the Administration to prepare a report for the November Overview and Scrutiny Board identifying the reasons why so many staff have left and the measures it intends to take to remedy these shortages.

Amendment on behalf of the Conservative Group

1.  Amend the first sentence as follows: “While staff turnover at Havering is below the London average, in several council departments there are currently temporary staffing shortages.”

2.  Amend the third sentence as follows: “This Council calls upon the Head of Paid Service to provide members with a briefing on the staffing position in Highways and Planning Enforcement and the action plans in place for both services.”

3.  Add the following text:

In addition, this Council notes that Havering Council is committed to being an employer of choice – an organisation that attracts, develops and retains talented public servants who share our vision and passion for Havering.

The council seeks to be an ever-more curious, collaborative, anti-discriminatory and tech-savvy organisation, which develops its workforce in new ways to meet and solve problems for the benefit of local residents. This ethos is written through the council’s new internal identity – Choose Havering.

The council is investing in people and in new technology, making sure that everyone who works for Havering can access the training, tools and support they need to be successful in their career and deliver high-quality, efficient services to local residents.

The council recognises colleagues who have chosen to leave the organisation by thanking them for their service in our internal communications. Line managers are asked to carry out exit interviews to learn from leavers’ experience and knowledge transfer is part of each leaver’s notice period.

For clarity, the amended motion would read as follows

While staff turnover at Havering is below the London average, in several council departments there are currently temporary staffing shortages. These shortages have in turn led to high volumes of work for the remaining staff in departments such as Highways, where there is a stated wait (as of May 2021) of around nine weeks to repair major potholes, and Planning Enforcement, where there is a backlog of over 750 open enforcement cases.

This Council calls upon the Head of Paid Service to provide Members with a briefing on the staffing position in Highways and Planning Enforcement and the action plans in place for both services.

In addition, this Council notes that Havering Council is committed to being anemployer of choice – an organisation that attracts, develops and retains talented public servants who share our vision and passion for Havering.

The council seeks to be an ever-more curious, collaborative, anti-discriminatory and tech-savvy organisation, which develops its workforce in new ways to meet and solve problems for the benefit of local residents. This ethos is written through the council’s new internal identity – Choose Havering.

The council is investing in people and in new technology, making sure that everyone who works for Havering can access the training, tools and support they need to be successful in their career and deliver high-quality, efficient services to local residents.

The council recognises colleagues who have chosen to leave the organisation by thanking them for their service in our internal communications. Line managers are asked to carry out exit interviews to learn from leavers’ experience and knowledge transfer is part of each leaver’s notice period.

Following debate, the amendment on behalf of the Conservative Group was CARRIED by 26 votes to 24 with 1 abstention (see division 2) and AGREED as the substantive motion by 26 votes to 23 with 2 abstentions (see division 3).

RESOLVED:

While staff turnover at Havering is below the London average, in several council departments there are currently temporary staffing shortages. These shortages have in turn led to high volumes of work for the remaining staff in departments such as Highways, where there is a stated wait (as of May 2021) of around nine weeks to repair major potholes, and Planning Enforcement, where there is a backlog of over 750 open enforcement cases.

This Council calls upon the Head of Paid Service to provide Members with a briefing on the staffing position in Highways and Planning Enforcement and the action plans in place for both services.

In addition, this Council notes that Havering Council is committed to being anemployer of choice – an organisation that attracts, develops and retains talented public servants who share our vision and passion for Havering.

The council seeks to be an ever-more curious, collaborative, anti-discriminatory and tech-savvy organisation, which develops its workforce in new ways to meet and solve problems for the benefit of local residents. This ethos is written through the council’s new internal identity – Choose Havering.

The council is investing in people and in new technology, making sure that everyone who works for Havering can access the training, tools and support they need to be successful in their career and deliver high-quality, efficient services to local residents.

The council recognises colleagues who have chosen to leave the organisation by thanking them for their service in our internal communications. Line managers are asked to carry out exit interviews to learn from leavers’ experience and knowledge transfer is part of each leaver’s notice period.