Agenda item

Report of the Member Services Manager.

4.1       The Chairman introduced the item and advised that the Member Development Charter and Charter Plus had been produced by the Local Government Association (LGA) and that it acted as a framework for councils to model their own member training needs. Members heard that around 80% of councillors had already attended the Member Development Programme and the Chairman welcomed the input provided by the Council’s legal officers, although it was important that attendances levels should be even higher. Councillor Melvyn Caplan added that he thought the organisation of the Members’ Induction Programme was better organised this year and that it had impressed upon new Members that they were joining a professional organisation. The Chairman then invited the Committee to give views on the Member Development Charter and Charter Plus.

4.2       Councillor David Boothroyd referred to section 1.1 of the Charter and suggested that the development of councillors should be a priority of the Standards Committee as well as the Leader of the Council. However, he felt that the training already provided by the Council met most of the requirements set out in section 1.1. In respect of section 1.4, Councillor Boothroyd felt that there was already an adequate designated budget for Member development in place. He suggested that consideration in respect of availability of Members for training should be taken into account, especially as some were in full time work. Councillor Boothroyd added that such a Charter could be made more specific to the Council’s needs.

4.3       Councillor Patricia McAllister emphasised the importance of ensuring that any training initiatives were presented effectively to ensure a high Member sign up. She felt that there needed to be more officers available to help support Members’ training needs and concurred that Members’ availability needed to be taken into consideration. Councillor McAllister also highlighted the importance of Members working relationship with officers and she suggested that there could be a training session on this.

4.4       Councillor Melvyn Caplan stated that he was familiar with the LGA and had served on some of their committees. Although there were some useful suggestions in the Charter, Councillor Caplan commented that the LGA needed to take into account that it was serving the interests of all types of councils, including metropolitan boroughs, district councils and parish councils. The Council therefore needed to ensure that training was appropriately tailored to meet the needs of its own Members. Councillor Caplan queried how investment in learning and development could be regularly evaluated, as suggested in section 3.1 of the Charter. In respect of the Charter’s suggestion in section 3.2 that learning is shared with other councillors, officers and stakeholders, he queried how this could be achieved in practical terms. Councillor Caplan emphasised the importance of cross party support for training initiatives to succeed, as well as from the Leader. Furthermore, the leaders of the political groups and party whips should also play a role in encouraging Members to participate in training. Councillor Caplan concluded by stating that the GLA’s Charter gave some structure and guidelines on what to base Members’ training on, but efforts should now be made to ensure training was specific to Westminster Members’ needs. Member Development also played a role in training future leaders, whilst experienced councillors needed to be kept up to date in matters such as changes to legislation and the way the Council works.

4.5      Councillor Robert Rigby commented that Member Development played a crucial role and it was important that Members had appropriate support and access to appropriate pathways, as well as having an understanding of how the Council works. Efforts should also be made to ensure that Members were aware that training was in their interests and for their benefits and that they were given sufficient options in what areas they wanted to focus on. The Charter was also silent in terms of helping Councillors to address the stresses they may encounter in their roles as elected members.

4.6       Councillor Louise Hyams felt that there was no particular need for a Charter and that the Standards Committee had cross party representation. Councillor Hyams stressed that councillors were elected members to represent their constituents and were not professionals in a strictly work sense. Councillors’ activities were guided by the advice of officers and the views of residents and Councillor Hyams felt that obliging councillors to undertake training would be excessive. She added that new councillors also had mentors provided by their political groups. Councillor Hyams acknowledged the importance of the Members Induction, however any further training needed to be countered by the time councillors spent in serving their residents’ priorities.

4.7       Sir Stephen Lamport, Independent Member, felt that any Charter should give an oversight on what it wants to achieve. It was important that the Member Development Programme offered training that would both be useful and interesting to councillors.

4.8       Members noted the written comments submitted by Councillor Danny Chalkley who was unable to be present at the meeting. In his submission, Councillor Chalkley welcomed the introduction of a Member Development Charter which he felt would help Members to become increasingly professional in undertaking their duties. Councillor Chalkley also indicated his support for the Council to achieve Charter Plus status equivalence.

4.9       The Chairman acknowledged that councillors roles varied considerably and their training needs differed. She highlighted the importance of Cabinet Members in needing to build up an extensive knowledge base in their field and working closely with officers, whilst those who chaired committees also required specific training. However, she remarked that a current backbencher councillor could become Leader or a Cabinet Member in future and it was also important that they had sufficient Member Development opportunities. The Chairman concurred that changes in legislation and policy meant that it was important that Members were kept updated on these through appropriate training. Member Development was also important to demonstrate that councillors are fit to represent the community and to be leaders, particularly as Members faced increased public scrutiny through the media, including ever widening social media channels. The Chairman also felt that the Standards Committee should play a greater role in helping to promote Member Development and a cross party task group could be created to look into this matter in future.

4.10    Hazel Best (Principal Solicitor) was invited to comment and she advised that it was not a legal requirement to have a Members’ Development Charter, however it could be used as a benchmark and it also provided an opportunity to provide evidence of what the Council does to ensure councillors can effectively fulfil their roles.

4.11    RESOLVED:

            That it be noted that the responsibility for Member Development sits with the Leader of the Council.