Quick decisions!

Good to see he Mayor is back from paternity leave and getting stuck into his portfolio responsibilities. I've just received, via e-mail, the "Decision Record" of the Mayor's Regeneration and Livability Portfolio meeting for 29th August.

The Meeting commenced at 10.00am and the Mayor received a report informing him that the Head of Emergency Planning had been invited to attend the 4th European Congress on Disaster Management in Bonn, Germany as a speaker. Invitation was accepted. The Mayor then considered a report extending the boundary of the Headland Conservation Area to include the Heugh Breakwater. Extension approved. Next up was a report on the progress made against the Regeneration and Planning Services Departmental Plan 2008/2009 in the first quarter of the year. The Mayor noted the progress against key actions in the first quarter of the year.

The meeting finished at 10.10am. Just over 3 minutes per decision. That's three quick decisions! Maybe he should give some lessons to Pamela Hargreaves, the Performance Portfolio Holder.

Ms Hargreaves meeting on the 29th August started at 3.00pm and she kicked off a review of the proposed Hartlepool Connect Annual Report that details actions taken over the last 12 months. The report was noted and some proposed amendments were agreed for action. Then straight into a request that the Portfolio Holder support an action plan for undertaking a stress risk assessment and for the Council to become a ‘Mindful Employer’. The report was noted, the stress management action plan agreed and the proposal that the Council becomes a ‘Mindful Employer’ was also agreed. Following this the Portfolio Holder was informed of the results of the 24th phase of Viewpoint, Hartlepool Borough Council’s Citizen’s Panel, which was distributed in February 2008. Decided that the results of the survey be noted. The second last agenda item covered details of employee absence for the first quarter of 2008/9 and actions taken. Finally the Portfolio Holder agreed to the appointment of a provider of Occupational Health Services to commence on 1st September 2008 for three years with the provision for a two-year extension.

The meeting finished at 3.35pm. So Ms Hargreaves made 5 decisions in 35 minutes, 7 minutes each. The Mayor could have disposed of that Meeting in just 15 minutes!