• Agenda and minutes
  • Agenda and minutes

    Venue: Virtual

    Contact: Jess Daniel - Democratic Services 

    Items
    No. Item

    1.

    Welcome and Apologies

    Minutes:

    The Chair welcomed all Members and Officers to the meeting and noted that an apology for absence had been received from County Borough Councillor J. Harries.

     

    The Chair informed Members of a change in the role of Armed Forces Covenant Lead introducing Mr Chris Davies to Committee and thanking him for his support and enthusiasm so far. The Chair also thanks the previous Lead Ms Melanie Warburton for her contribution and dedication to the role.

     

    2.

    Minutes pdf icon PDF 105 KB

    To receive as an accurate record the minutes of the Armed Forces Working Group meeting held on the 8th October 2019.

    Minutes:

    It was RESOLVED to approve as an accurate record, the minutes of the meeting of the Armed Forces Working Group held on 18th October 2019.

    3.

    Update from the Armed Forces Liaison Officer

    To receive a presentation from the Armed Forces Liaison Officer for Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil, including an update on the Veteran Advice Service.

     

     

    Minutes:

    With the aid of a Power Point presentation, the Armed Forces Liaison Officer provided Members with an update on the Veterans Advice Service. He provided background information into the purpose of the Veterans Advice Service detailing it’s aim to treat veterans fairly, raise awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant, provide support and advice for veterans in Rhondda Cynon Taf and work towards the Council maintaining the Gold employer recognition award. He informed Members that as part of the work to contribute to raising awareness all new staff to the Council receive Armed Forces Covenant awareness training which to date has been completed by over 600 staff and there are also public covenant awareness sessions available.

     

    He continued to outline the key support that is essential to enabling the service to provide assistance to veterans and noted the support from Cabinet Members is vital and unique to Rhondda Cynon Taf and he thanked Members for this. Another area of support covered was raising awareness. The Officer praised the good relationship held with the Council’s Press team as a key support in the aim of raising awareness of the service and noted the recent national press coverage which had also had a positive effect. Details were also provided of the newsletter that is produced to raise awareness of the service. He also referenced the support from Customer Care and the use of the CRM system to record and monitor data as a key tool when compiling funding bid applications.

     

    The Officer also outlined the details of the Veterans Groups supported by the service informing Members of the recently formed Taf Ely Veterans Group and the success this had seen so far with numbers attending. Details were also provided of recent projects undertaken by the service including the provision of laptops to aid running the groups and the procurement of 80 tablets following a successful Covenant grant bid with the aim of tackling isolation amongst veterans. Members were informed the tablets, part of the ‘Veterans Connected’ project would be available to hire free of charge.

     

    Members were also informed of recent events that had taken place including a scaled back ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day 2021 including flag raising and a family Forces Fitness day. Also, Merchant Navy Day was marked on 3rd September 2021 which was the first time the flag had been raised for this occasion. The Officer acknowledged the key contribution and sacrifice members of the Merchant Navy had made and informed Members of the intention to continue marking this day going forward.

     

    The Officer also shared with Members the current data held showing that 88% of those who have engaged with the service to date are male with the majority in the age rang 61-70 (80%). He acknowledged that this is an area he is keen to work on engaging with younger veterans. Members also received examples of recent feedback from veterans engaged with the service highlighting the benefits they felt from having a point of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

    4.

    Guaranteed Interview Scheme Draft Cabinet Report pdf icon PDF 310 KB

    To receive a report from the Armed Forces Covenant Lead in respect of a proposal to introduce a Guaranteed Interview Scheme. 

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Armed Forces Covenant Lead presented Members with a draft report titled ‘Improving the Council’s recruitment process for the Armed Forces community.’ He advised Members of the report being presented to Cabinet on the 4thOctober in respect of options that could improve the Council’s recruitment process, so as to make it easier for the Armed Forces Community and veterans to overcome barriers to civilian employment. The main proposal outlined in the report is for the introduction of a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for Armed Forces service leavers, reservists and veterans if they meet the vacancy essential criteria.

     

    Members were advised the scheme would benefit veterans and armed forces leavers by helping them overcome the barriers to employment post service and helping to reduce the potential health and wellbeing impacts of long-term unemployment. Additionally, the Council would benefit from a wider selection of candidates who meet the essential criteria and who may have a large number of transferrable skills.

     

    The Head Of Employee Relations continued to present the report, advising Members of the details of the scheme. He informed Members that a robust impact assessment had been undertaken as it was acknowledged that at present a large number of the group this scheme would apply to would be white males. Members were advised this had been taken into consideration and felt that due to the Ministry of Defences enhanced campaigns to recruit a diverse group of people that the scheme would not adversely impact any group long term.

     

    Members were invited to provide their comments on the proposed scheme. All Members were greatly enthusiastic at the proposal noting that it would be a great tool in providing confidence to veterans to apply for jobs with the Council. Members acknowledged the wide range of transferable skills held by veterans and noted that these would only serve to benefit the Council. It was also noted that by introducing such a scheme it could influence other local employers to also follow the Councils lead.

     

    One Member queried whether the scheme would be applicable to education and School Governor roles. The Head Of Employee Relations informed Members that whilst Schools have their own discretion over recruitment policies, if agreed by Cabinet, the Council would certainly ensure to make schools aware of its recommendation and details of the policy.

     

    The Armed Forces Working Group RESOLVED:

     

    1.    To consider the report provided in appendix A and provide comment as appropriate on the intended scheme.

     

    2.    To provide Members feedback for presentation to the Cabinet prior to their consideration of the item.

     

     

    5.

    Let's Talk Armed Forces

    To receive a presentation form the Armed Forces Covenant Lead. 

     

    Minutes:

    The Armed Forces Covenant Lead provided Members with a demonstration of a new engagement tool currently utilised by the Council to consult with residents and the wider public on a range of issues. He shared the details of a project targeted at the Armed Forces community titled ‘Let’s Talk Armed Forces’. Let's Talk Armed Forces | Let's Talk RCTCBC

     

    Members were shown the site and informed of the range of engagement tools available to add to the site to provide an engaging and interactive page including videos, surveys, quick polls and stories. He informed Members the aim of the page is to build a database and provide key data required to enable the service to expand on the support it currently provides. Members were shown a video of a current attendee at one Veterans Group outlining their experience of engaging with the service and the benefits they feel they have gained as a result.

     

    Members were positive about the site and the opportunities to engage with the wider armed forces community. Members felt the page was a key tool to raise awareness of the service.

     

    The Chair concluded by thanking the Officer for the demonstration and welcoming Members to provide feedback during the course of the engagement project.