DEMOCRACY AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE			21 June 2023
Member Training 2022/23 Discussion Paper
Final Decision-Maker		Democracy and General Purposes Committee
Lead Director		Angela Woodhouse, Director of Strategy, Insight and Governance
Lead Officer and Report Author		Angela Woodhouse, Director of Strategy, Insight and Governance
Classification		Public
Wards affected		N/A
Executive Summary
This report provides a summary of Member training and briefings for 2022/23 and the proposed training activities for 2023/24 for discussion and input from this Committee.
Purpose of Report   Decision
This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:
1.   To note the approach to Member training for 2023/24 and agree any additional training to be included in the programme.
Timetable
Meeting				Date
Democracy and General Purposes Committee				21 June 2023

Member Training 2022/23 Discussion Paper

1.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

 

Issue	Implications	Sign-off
Impact on Corporate Priorities	The four Strategic Plan objectives are:   ·         Embracing Growth and Enabling Infrastructure ·         Safe, Clean and Green ·         Homes and Communities ·         A Thriving Place   We do not expect the recommendations will by themselves materially affect achievement of corporate priorities.  However, they will support the Council’s overall achievement of its aims as set out in the body of the report.	Director of Strategy, Insight and Governance
Cross Cutting Objectives	The four cross-cutting objectives are:   ·         Heritage is Respected ·         Health Inequalities are Addressed and Reduced ·         Deprivation and Social Mobility is Improved ·         Biodiversity and Environmental Sustainability is respected   The training and briefing sessions will support the achievement of the cross- cutting objectives.	Director of Strategy, Insight and Governance
Risk Management	Already covered in the risk section	Director of Strategy, Insight and Governance
Financial	The proposals set out in the recommendation are all within already approved £9k Member Training budget and so need no new funding for implementation.	Section 151 Officer & Finance Team
Staffing	We will deliver the recommendations with our current staffing.
Legal	There are no legal implications. However, under Section 3 of the Local Government Act 1999 (as amended) the Council as a best value authority has a statutory duty to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The Learning and Development Charter and this report assist in demonstrating best value and compliance with the statutory duty.	Russell Fitzpatrick (MKLS)
Privacy and Data Protection	There are no privacy and data protection implications.	Policy and Information Team
Equalities	No implications	Policy & Information Manager
Public Health	No implications	Public Health Officer
Crime and Disorder	No implications	Director of Strategy, Insight and Governance
Procurement	Any training requiring procured will follow procurement and financial procedure rules.	Director of Strategy, Insight and Governance
Biodiversity and Climate Change	Training for Members on biodiversity and climate change has been included as part of the programme.	Biodiversity and Climate Change Manager

 

 

 

 

 

2.        INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

3.      

2.1     The Council has in place a Member Development Charter agreed by the Democracy Committee in September 2018.

 

2.2     The Charter sets out the following criteria for Member Development:

 

·         There is a clear commitment to councillor development and support

·         The council has a strategic approach to councillor learning and development

·         Learning and development is effective in building capacity

 

Training and Briefings for Members in 2022/23

 

2.3        20 training and briefing sessions were held for Members in 2022/23, two sessions were held for Members on Overview and Scrutiny to support Councillors taking on the scrutiny role following the change to the Council’s governance arrangements. Briefings on the new model were also held prior to its introduction. Training and briefing sessions were held face to face and/or online depending on the topic.

 

2.4        Planning and Licensing Committees set their own training programme that members must complete to participate on the committees. Eight sessions were held to deliver planning training as agreed and identified by the Planning Committee. Two Licensing Committee training sessions were held for members of the Committee.

 

 

2.5        A number of briefing sessions were held covering topics including:

 

·         The Local Government Boundary Review

·         Audit Governance and Standards briefing on the statement of accounts

·         The Cost of Living Crisis

·         Waste Collection

·         Prevent Radicalism

·         Councillors as Trustees

·         Chairing Training

·         Town Centre Strategy walk for Ward Members

 

 

 

3.   AVAILABLE OPTIONS

 

3.1     For 2023/24 training has already been organised as follows:

 

·         Induction for new Councillors

·         Briefing on the new Overview and Scrutiny function and work programme

·         Support for the Executive Lead Members based on their portfolios through external training, conferences and internal briefings

·         The Nolan Principles

·         Questioning Skills

·         Preparing for a four yearly term of office and all out elections

·         Carbon literacy training

 

  Planning and Licensing Training will be organised by those committees respectively.

 

3.2     Several briefings will be scheduled by topic throughout the year as we have previously with input from the Executive and Corporate Leadership Team to ensure Members remained informed of Council activity and Strategic Issues.

 

4.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

4.1     In line with the Member Development Charter, Members are asked to put forward suggestions for training.

 

4.2     In previous years training has been held on:

·         Constitution and procedure rules for meetings

·         Code of conduct and interests

·         Chairing skills

·         social media and media training

·         Member rights

 

4.3     The Committee is asked to identify any additional training they would like to be included in this year’s programme.

 

5.       RISK

5.1    Training and development of Members will strengthen the council’s governance arrangements and mitigate risk through ensuring effective decision making.

 

6.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

 

6.1     Licensing and Planning Committees will be approving their own training programmes as regulatory Committees. The purpose of this report is for Democracy and General Purposes Committee to identify any training they believe would be beneficial for Members.

 

 

7.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

 

7.1     Training as set out in section 3 has already taken place or will commence following this meeting. New suggestions put forward and agreed by this Committee will be included in the programme. If the suggestions prove to require expenditure beyond the Member Training Budget a report will be brought back to this Committee to prioritise training. In previous years the budget has been underspent.

 

8.        REPORT APPENDICES

 

None

 

9.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

None