Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair of the Committee for the duration of the meeting.

RESOLVED – That Councillor Kevin Dowling be elected Chair of the Committee for the duration of the meeting.

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2013.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 19th November 2013 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

The following interests were declared:-

Personal Interests

Members of the public are invited to put questions to the Chair and members of the Committee on any matters within the powers and duties of the Committee, subject to the exclusions set out in the Code of Practice. Questions must be submitted prior to the commencement of the meeting on the cards provided.  These are also available via the Council’s website at www.stockport.gov.uk/publicquestions.

No public questions were submitted.

To consider whether it is in the public interest to exclude the public during consideration of Agenda Item 5 (Appeal A263) which contains information “not for publication” by virtue of the categories set out in the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

RESOLVED – That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Agenda Item 6 – ‘Appeal A263’ to prevent disclosure of information relating to an individual.  It would not, on balance, be in the public interest to disclose this information to the public because disclosure of the personal information would not be fair to the appellant and therefore be in breach of Data Protection regulations.

To consider a grievance appeal from employees of the Corporate and Support Services Directorate.

This item is ‘not for publication’ and has been circulated to members of the Committee only.

The Committee considered a grievance appeal from two employees of the Corporate and Support Services Directorate.  The Appellant and their representative attended the meeting and presented their case.  The Committee received documentation, heard presentations and questioning from the Appellant and Management.

RESOLVED – The Committee considered all the issues that were raised under the grievance policy, the oral presentations and all the written documentation that was submitted.

The Committee noted that there was to be a current refresh of council policy regarding excess travel to ensure better clarity for employees and managers.  The Committee welcomed this and asked that if there were anomalies present, then these should be reviewed and remedied.  The Committee asked that consideration be given as to whether the cost of travel should be viewed to the exclusion of all other aspects.

In relation to the current policy, having listened to and viewed all the evidence presented, the Committee was of the view that in this case the policy had been applied appropriately.

The Committee therefore upheld management’s decision to refuse payment of the excess travel allowance.

The Committee therefore resolved that the appeal be not upheld.