Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       At its meeting on the 23rd August 2019, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee noted an update report and progress achieved in relation to the City and Neighbourhood

            Service (CNS) Transition and Improvement Programme (T&IP), including the ongoing development a new Open Spaces and Streetscene Service.

1.2       The purpose of this report is to provide Members with a further update on the progress of the development of the Open Spaces and Streetscene, and to set out next steps.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is requested to

·        note the contents of the report and the progress achieved in relation to the creation of the new Open Spaces and Streetscene service since August 2019. The Committee is also asked to the note the further work planned in this review.

·        Members are also asked to note that this report will be presented to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee for noting.

3.0       Main report

            Key issues

3.1       The development of the new Open Spaces and Streetscene (OSS) service is a priority project in the CNS Transformation & Improvement Programme. The development of this new service directly supports the delivery of the outcomes, objectives and priorities within the Belfast Agenda, Corporate Plan and the Council’s Improvement plan, reflected in the OSS vision to create:

3.2       ‘A service where we see it, do it, or report it. We have pride in our work, maintain environmental standards, and work together to maintain the public realm with and for our city’s residents and visitors.’

3.3       Consultation at the Open Spaces and Streetscene Management and Trade Union Sub-group has been ongoing since February 2019, and has included detailed consultation on the draft job descriptions which were set out in a detailed proposal document. Comprehensive written information and feedback has been provided to staff and Trade Unions as part of this consultation process.

3.4       Other direct and extensive engagement has also taken place with staff at all levels in the legacy services of Parks and Street Cleansing, as well as affected staff in Resources and Fleet. This has included:

-       context briefings organised for approximately 100 managers and supervisors in August 2019;

-       19 staff briefings which took place across the city during September and October 2019, reaching approximately 500 staff and;

-       five staff ‘surgeries’ which took place across the city in late October 2019, to facilitate one to one, and small group sessions with affected staff;

-       a number of management and trade union representatives participated in a two day study visit to comparator councils in Nottingham and Wakefield in October 2019, supported by the Association for Public Services Excellence (APSE).

-       Staff engagement will continue over the coming months, with further staff briefings being planned for the new year.

3.5       Consultation on the new staff OSS structure and job descriptions is now complete. Transfer mechanisms to be applied to move current posts and permanent post-holders from old to new structures, are those set out in existing Council policy. Approximately 70% of the staff currently employed in the OSS legacy services of Parks and Street Cleansing will benefit from an uplift in grade and salary following their transfer onto the new structure.

3.6       Implementation of the transfer of staff will get underway in November 2019, with the structure to be fully populated by the end of March 2020, following completion all relevant recruitment processes.

3.7       A key objective of the review has been to create permanent employee opportunities, ensuring that people can avail of good jobs that pay well and provide opportunity for advancement. The new staff structure includes 600 permanent posts, and will result in a significant number of new, permanent appointments at management, supervisory and front line levels. This, in turn, will see a significant reduction in the number of temporary contracts and agency assignments used across OSS. Current temporary staff and agency assignees have been facilitated with Job Application and Interview Skills training, in advance of the recruitment of these permanent roles. It is also expected that a number of the new, front line posts will be ring-fenced for recruitment as part of the council’s inclusive growth strategy, and preparatory work is ongoing in this regard.

3.8       The new structure includes a wider career pathway in terms of public realm cleanliness and environmental upkeep (Open Spaces and Streetscene), and will be supported by a comprehensive learning and development framework. This framework will focus, initially, on induction of staff into the new ways of working, and which will evolve to support role enrichment, staff development and effective succession planning.

            Financial & Resource Implications

3.9       Financial

            The department has confirmed that implementation of the changes and realignment of budgets to create permanent posts has been achieved and are included within the service’s revenue estimate for 2020/21

3.10      Human Resources

            There are no adverse human resources implications.

3.11      Equality or Good Relations Implications/

            Rural Needs Assessment

            There are no adverse equality or rural needs implications.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.