A petition was received by the Council seeking the reinstatement of the Post of Development Officer Inclusion & Mobility within Planning Transportation and Highways Service. The petition was referred to Executive by Full Council on 13 December 2016.

This report sets out the background to the deletion of the post including as part of the budget process and a service wide restructure in 2016 and the alternative arrangements to be put in place to undertake this work and meet its duties to equalities groups in on going service delivery.

The report of the Strategic Director of Place (Document “BD”) has not been included on the published forward plan as an issue for consideration however the matter relates to the implementation of a restructure and agreed budget proposal and as such a decision is needed urgently in order to be consider as soon as possible any budget implications and also implications for the current post holder .  As it is impractical to defer the decision until it has been included in the published Forward Plan the report is submitted in accordance with paragraph 10 of the Executive Procedure Rules set out in the Council’s Constitution.

Recommended -

That the post of Development officer Mobility and inclusion is not reinstated and the new arrangements are endorsed.

(Regeneration & Economy Overview & Scrutiny Committee)

(Andrew Marshall – 01274 434050)

A petition was received by the Council seeking the reinstatement of the Post of Development Officer Inclusion & Mobility within Planning Transportation and Highways Service. The petition was referred to Executive by  Council on 13 December 2016.

The report of the Strategic Director of Place (Document “BD”) set out the background to the deletion of the post included as part of the budget process and a service wide restructure in 2016 and the alternative arrangements which were to be put in place to undertake this work and meet its duties to equalities groups in on going service delivery.

The report of the Strategic Director of Place had not been included on the published forward plan as an issue for consideration however the matter related to the implementation of a restructure and agreed budget proposal and as such a decision was needed urgently in order to be consider as soon as possible any budget implications and also implications for the current post holder .  As it was impractical to defer the decision until it has been included in the published Forward Plan the report was submitted in accordance with paragraph 10 of the Executive Procedure Rules set out in the Council’s Constitution.

A number of people with disabilities attended the meeting and spoke in support of reinstating the post.  They stressed that the current post holder was disabled and understood the daily difficulties of life as a disabled person.  They maintained that there was no one in the Council who understood the principles of disability design and who had the current post holder’s skill sets and networks.  They asked that the Executive have sight of the Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) to demonstrate how the Council had undertaken a rigorous EIA.  They stated that, without the post, the Council’s planning would be less effective.  They stressed that he was a dedicated specialist mobility officer with a specialist set of skills.  He had built bridges and given people with disabilities access to members of Council and transport providers in the district.  The post provided a lifeline for people with disabilities.  There were growing numbers of disabled adults and children in the district and people who could not access the disability planning group needed a voice.  The post holder was specialised in mobility issues and was able to represent people with disabilities to the Council and represent the Council to people with disabilities.  He was their advocate, representative and liaison officer. 

A member who was the Co-Chair of the Strategic Disability Partnership attended the meeting and spoke in opposition to the deletion of the post. He expressed concern about the way in which the views of the Partnership had been related to members.  He questioned who would be responsible for training.

In response the Strategic Director reminded members that the post had been introduced in 2006 on a temporary basis to embed mobility and inclusion into the way in which officers worked.  He went on to report that a lot of good work had been undertaken over that period and that further embedding would take place in terms of managers in Transportation and Highways taking ownership of issues in a more integrated approach.  He highlighted that the combined savings over two years was proposed to be £190,000 in 2016-17 and £125,000 in 2017-18.  The salary for the post was £42,000.

The Neighbourhood and Community Safety Portfolio Holder sought reassurance on how best practice on inclusion and mobility was being embedded in the work of the Council.

The Strategic Director stressed that this was a key priority across the Department of Place and areas of Transport and Highways and would continue to be a key priority.  He added that this would continue to be a significant issue in key regeneration projects and the Directorate Management Team would be responsible for its implementation.   He explained that staff training was being undertaken in development sessions, seminars, service meetings regarding major developments and formal and informal training sessions.

In response to a member question the Strategic Director advised members that each of the prime objectives of the post had been identified and consideration given to how they would be delivered and how the mobility group would be supported.  Named officers had been identified to provide the required levels of support and contact with groups on major projects.  Any transition would have to be managed and more bespoke training may have to be provided for different roles.

The Regeneration, Planning and Transport Portfolio Holder thanked the petitioners for their representations and stressed the need to embed inclusion and mobility within teams and not rely on one post.  He stressed that this was created as a temporary post and the intention was that other officers would pick up functions relevant to their area of responsibility and expertise when the appointment came to an end. 

The Leader requested that progress reports be submitted to the Portfolio Holder on a sixth monthly basis. 

Resolved -

(1)          That the post of Development Officer Mobility and inclusion be not reinstated and the new arrangements be endorsed.

(2)          That  progress reports on the targeted training and development of posts within Planning, Transport and Highways be submitted to the Neighbourhoods and Community Safety Portfolio Holder on a six monthly basis.

Regeneration & Economy Overview & Scrutiny Committee

ACTION: Strategic Director of Place