The officers consider that the following item contains exempt information as provided for in the Local Government Access to Information Act and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The Committee is recommended to agree the necessary resolutions excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of this item.

Decision

The Committee agrees to exclude the public during consideration of the following item which involved consideration of exempt information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular persons and public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Report of the Director HR, OD and Transformation attached

Members of the Committee will be provided in confidence with information on the applicant(s) that are invited to take part in the interview process for the post. Appropriate candidates will be interviewed by the Committee.

The Committee considered a report of the Director HR, OD and Transformation, which requested members made an appointment of an Acting Strategic Director of Children's and Education Services, which was a statutory chief officer post.

The Chair advised that following a competitive recruitment process, Paul Marshall had been appointed as Deputy Chief Executive.  Paul currently held the position of Strategic Director Children’s and Education Service and the statutory Director of Children's Services as defined by Section 18 of the Children Act 2004. To enable Paul to take up the role of Deputy Chief Executive he needed to relinquish his statutory responsibility as Director of Children's Services. 

A full recruitment process would take approximately six months before a person was in post and therefore it had been decided to offer the role of Strategic Director Children’s and Education Services on an ‘acting-up’ basis. Under the Council's Constitution, the holder of the post of Strategic Director Children's and Education Services was automatically designated as the statutory Director of Children's Services.

The Director HR, OD and Transformation reported that internal expressions of interest had been sought and one individual had applied.  The Committee was advised that on reviewing the application, both the Chief Executive and Director HR, OD and Transformation were satisfied that the individual was more than suitable for the role and recommended that the Committee appoint the applicant to the role of Acting Strategic Director of Children's and Education Services with effect from 1 June 2024 until the date a permanent appointment was made, which could be a period of up to six months.

Decision

The Committee appoint Sean McKendrick as Acting Strategic Director of Children's and Education Services effect from 1 June 2024 until the date a permanent appointment is made, which could be a period of up to six months.