DEMOCRACY AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE

22 June 2022

 

Member Training 2022/23 Discussion Paper

 

Final Decision-Maker

Democracy and General Purposes Committee

Lead Director

Chief Executive

Lead Officer and Report Author

Angela Woodhouse, Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Classification

Public

 

Wards affected

N/A

 

Executive Summary

This report provides a summary of Member training and briefings for 2021/22 and the proposed training activities for 2022/23 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 2022/23 and agree any additional training to be included in the programme.

 

 

 

Timetable

Meeting

Date

Democracy and General Purposes Committee

22 June 2022



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.

 

Head of Policy, Communications 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.

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Risk Management

Already covered in the risk section

 

Head of Policy, Communications 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.

 

Senior Legal Adviser – Corporate Governance.

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

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

 

Procurement

Any training requiring procured will follow procurement and financial procedure rules.

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

 

Biodiversity and Climate Change

Training for Members on biodiversity and climate change should be considered as part of the programme.

 

Biodiversity and Climate Change Officer

 

 


 

 

 

2.        INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

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 2021/22

 

2.3        42 training and briefing sessions were held for councillors in 2020-21, the majority of these sessions consisted of topic-based briefings for example briefings on the new governance arrangements, various strategies covid19 recovery and briefings from external partners including Golding Homes and Leeds Castle. The majority of Member training sessions delivered were in respect of Planning and Licensing roles, functions and responsibilities. Briefings were largely held virtually with some held face to face on a topic by topic basis.

 

 

 

 

3.   AVAILABLE OPTIONS

 

3.1     For 2022/23 training has already been organised as follows:

 

·         Induction for new Councillors

·         Training on the new Overview and Scrutiny function with two sessions held in June on the role of Overview and Scrutiny and Scrutiny Questioning Skills.

·         Media training for the Executive

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

·         The role and responsibilities of a Trustee

·         Chairing Training

 

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

 

3.2     A number of 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. Additional training is planned for Chairs and Vice Chairs on Chairing Skills as we have a new Governance Model in place. Training is also planned for Councillors who act as trustees as the Council has a number of charities it is involved in and/or supports, this has been identified as an area for development in the Annual Governance Statement.

 

4.2     In previous years training has been held on:

·         Constitution and procedure rules for meetings

·         Code of conduct and interests

·         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 4 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