To receive a report.

N.B This Item was brought forward at the Chairman’s discretion.

The Chairman welcomed James Gilbert, Assistant Director (Corporate) to present Members with the Annual Report on Use of Consultants 2024/25, pages 1 to 6 of the Supplementary Agenda refer.

The report brought forward details of consultancy commissions in 2024/25 under the definition previously agreed by Overview Committee which was a person commissioned by the Council to provide expert advice or information professionally, and which was not someone employed or contracted to deliver business as usual activities.

Appendix A of the Supplementary Agenda revealed that the Council’s expenditure on consultancy work in the year 2024/25 was £82k.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

• A Member requested further clarification on the definition of a consultant.  In response, the Assistant Director (Corporate) confirmed to Members that the report had been produced in accordance with the definition agreed at the previous Meeting.

• A Member wished to challenge the definition of consultant that was used to compile information in the report and commented that the report did not show an accurate representation for the rate payer where consultants had been utilised due to issues with workforce capacity.

• The Chairman queried whether the definition of a consultant that Members were seeking was people employed by the Council for business as usual when there was not capacity in house.  In response, the Assistant Director (Corporate) advised the Committee that some members of staff were funded from existing staff budgets, for example the role of Interim Consultant for Culture and Regeneration had been created following the departure of the Assistant Director, Economic Growth.

• A Member further stressed that Interim roles were still considered to fall under the definition of consultants and that the report should be presented in the way it had been in the past.  In response, the Chairman explained that the report had been resurrected to address these concerns and that figures for staff that were employed on an interim basis could be requested.   The Assistant Director (Corporate) further confirmed that the definition of a consultant could be broadened.

• The Chairman supported that it was necessary to look at who was employed by the Council on an interim basis and examine the wider issues with recruitment.

• A Member commented that the Council’s spend on consultants of £82k for the year 2024/25 did not seem unreasonable and that it would be beneficial for Members to see comparative figures in relation to other local authorities.  In response, the Assistant Director (Corporate) advised Members that the Finance team needed to identify what was considered a consultant to present the figures for interim management support roles.  Members were reminded that the figures in the report highlighted the shared spend across the Partnership and that East Lindsey District Council had a 46% share of the commissioned work.

• Members further discussed the definition of a consultant and highlighted that interim staff were usually paid more than a permanent member of staff.

• A Member queried whether interim consultant roles were secured through a procurement process.  In response, the Assistant Director (Corporate) confirmed to Members that a procurement process was undertaken when it reached a threshold of £5k.  Members were further advised that exemptions could be approved when specialist pieces of work were required, such as the work secured with LG Futures Ltd who were commissioned to provide Internal Drainage Board (IDB) evidence to inform the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

• A Member stressed the need to know how much the Council was spending on interim arrangements.

• Members further discussed the need for HR reports.  In response, Rachel Robinson, Group Manager (Organisational Development) confirmed that a report would be presented to the Committee at a future Meeting so that Members could examine trends and have oversight of recruitment issues.

• Members commented on the value of apprenticeships and highlighted the importance of establishing apprenticeship schemes in all areas of East Lindsey district.

• A Member highlighted that ELDC did not have a visible presence at local jobs fairs.  In response, the Group Manager (Organisational Development) explained to Members that further information could be brought forward on the work the Council was undertaking with local schools and initiatives to track careers from apprentices through to senior officer roles.

• A Member requested that the word ‘local’ was not emphasised for recruitment and training initiatives to ensure that opportunities were offered to everyone across the entire district.

• The Chairman concluded that the resurrection of the annual report on consultants would enable comparative figures to be provided in future.

No further comments were received.

The Chairman thanked James Gilbert, Assistant Director (Corporate) for the report.

Following which it was,

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted and that an updated report be presented to the next Meeting of the Committee to include details of Interim/Contract support for service delivery.