Decision details

The Board considered a report outlining proposals for the appointment of a single officer dedicated to the Trust’s affairs, replacing the current arrangement of several officers providing services.  The Strategic Director explained the perceived benefits of a single Administrator as being one point of contact, the officer being on site, greater efficiency and focus and a reduction in cross charging. 

In response to a question regarding the specific savings that would be achieved on the amounts quoted in the business case, the Strategic Director explained that the £15,000 on grounds administration would be saved and approximately half of the £18,500 for property administration.  Some of the legal and financial costs would be reduced and he was confident that the savings would at least cover the cost of the post.

There was some discussion about the amount of the property administration charge and how that was broken down, as Members were surprised at the amount.  The Strategic Director responded that one key role for the new person would be to commission services to keep prices down and enable the Trust to fully account for all costs.

Councillor Watt commented that one of the main complaints he received about the administration of the Trust’s affairs was how complicated it was to make a booking.  One single point of contact for this would make it a lot simpler, hopefully lead to more bookings and ensure that the charging policy was being applied consistently.  Peter Downey welcomed this and gave an example to illustrate current booking problems.

In response to a number of enquiries relating to the range of tasks covered and the recruitment process, the Strategic Director confirmed that the job description would be subject to proper evaluation and standard recruitment practices would apply.  The Chair asked the Strategic Director to investigate any options for the role to be managed by a different body (although it was noted that the Trust cannot be the employer), and the relative merits of the Council or another body being the employer.  The Director agreed to provide full details of the role and employment arrangements to Trustees before any appointment was made.

[NB: a discussion on a later agenda item highlighted the need to add ‘Marketing and promotion’ to the list of responsibilities covered by this role.]

On a motion from Councillor Hawkins, seconded by Councillor Watt, it was

RESOLVED

1. to note the enclosed business case analysing the financial impact of appointing a dedicated Trust Administrator to replace services provided by various Council officers; and

2. to approve the appointment of a Trust Administrator, subject to the points raised in discussion.