Agenda item

With regards to Policy Review Discussion and Guidance, HR Staffing Recruitment and Retention as well as Customer Service were noted with interest by Members for future discussion and review.

In respect of the Customer Service proposal for future review, Members wished to concentrate focus on how new technologies encouraged a user-friendly experience, and how customer services could be improved for residents.

Some Members agreed and added that tailoring technology to residents to improve user experience was a significantly beneficial topic that could be worth delving into for a more in-depth investigation.

A further information report within the remit of the Committee regarding First Aid Awareness and Training was also suggested by Members. This would be with a view to finding out if this would be a suitable major review topic.

Committee Rooms were public focused rooms. However, beyond the first aid sign that was present in Committee Rooms to contact security in the event that a sick or injured person required first aid care, there were no first aid kits nor any defibrillators. Greater first aid awareness coupled with training opportunities offered to both staff and Councillors in their public facing roles could be assessed to explore whether there was adequate first aid training available. The offering of first aid training to staff and Councillors could be extended to a wider pool of people to enrol and become better equipped on life-saving and essential first aid tools.

The Chairman observed that first aid training and a clearer understanding of medical conditions would be beneficial and posed the question to officers about what first aid training was currently offered.

Members were informed that in terms of first aid training, there was a requirement imposed from a health and safety perspective that meant there needed to be a certain number of first aiders within the Council building. In addition, there were certain roles that automatically required first aid training by virtue of it being mandatory within their own role. However, upon reflection, greater significance of the need to offer life-saving skills to many more staff, as previously advocated in a campaign by St John Ambulance, was noted.

Though not physical first aid, officers were particularly excellent when it came to offering mental health first aid training, where many staff were put on courses to better equip themselves with the understanding of the mental health element of first aid training that would be extremely beneficial for use in public facing roles.

Officers were asked to investigate the delivery of first aid awareness and training for the Committee’s attention at the next meeting to get some scoping around the topic area for further exploration, with focus including equipment, responsibility, and training.

The Democratic Services Officer clarified if the Committee was happy with the 4 recommendations listed under no.1 to no.9, with no.3 taken as developing a short list for future topics for further consideration. This was agreed.

Members referred to page 58 of the Guidance on Undertaking Policy Reviews and made comments that the wording in the guidance could be used to dilute scrutiny creating a reduction of transparency.

RESOLVED: That the Finance and Corporate Services Select Committee noted the contents of the report and provided comments to officers as appropriate.