Issue - meetings

A report is attached, there will be a presentation at the meeting (slides also attached).

Tiki Toogood – Organisational Development Manager, introduced the item and gave a presentation which covered the following:

·  The journey so far…

·  What is development?

·  21^st Century Councillor

·  Recommendations – Levels of development

·  Are there any gaps?

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Anketell Jones asked about a possible examination for Councillors after their first year in order to assess the gaps in their knowledge. Maria Lucas – Head of Legal and Democratic Services explained that there is only a small budget in their area so money must be spent wisely. She explained that the induction programme will be refreshed and suggested that new Councillors receive ongoing training and refresher sessions as a continued learning progress. Tiki Toogood, Organisational Development Manager, explained that e-learning could be used to test and improve knowledge.

Councillor Furse stated that he hoped that training was not just about digital skills. He explained that all Councillors had differing priorities and wards. Maria Lucas explained that there were specific training courses for areas such as licensing and planning but also some general skills such as dealing with a complainant, skilful questioning and knowledge of the constitution that all Councillors may benefit from. Councillor Furse stated that member training would become more important as the Council changes and officers are possibly less available. Councillor Karen Warrington – Cabinet Member for Transformation and Customer Services, stated that resident’s expectations can be relatively high and there is a need to let them know that there is less money and less officers and there will be a different way of working.

Councillor Davis stated that Councillors can help each other by sharing experience with possible mentoring and being pro-active in learning new things (such as using i-pads). Councillor Bevan agreed that Councillors asking officers for information on specific areas would be better than officers spending time organising formalised training sessions which are not always well attended. Councillor O’Brien echoed this and added that it can be up to a year before a new Councillor starts to learn how everything in the authority works – she explained that it should be about developing understanding rather than training (although there are some areas where training is obligatory) and suggested that a criteria be drawn up for candidates. Maria Lucas explained that descriptions for certain roles such as Cabinet Member, Chairperson etc. could be shared with candidates to give them an idea of what each role involves.

Councillor Rayment explained that managing resident’s expectations is political. He stated that equalities training was very positive and that representatives from all sections of society should be encouraged to become Councillors.

Councillor Bevan stated that maybe Human Rights and Equalities training should be obligatory in the same way as Planning and Licensing training and that some formal training could be shared with other authorities. Councillor Rayment asked that the programme be developed with Councillors. Officers agreed this should be planned with Councillors.