Agenda item

Report of the Head of the Cabinet Secretariat.

6.1       The Committee considered the report, which was submitted at the request of Members, to address the issue of continuing training and development for Members of the Council. The report provided an indication of what could be provided and sought a steer on the type and level of training Members would wish to see provided going forward.

6.2       The Committee noted the timeliness of conducting a review of Member training and development, given the recent local elections and the number of new Members who had been elected to the City Council. The Committee recognised that, whilst many Members have a wide ranging and rich skill-set gained academically, personally or professionally, there are many skills and areas of knowledge which are unique to local government and to the role of a Councillor in Westminster. Members’ need for adequate training and development should not therefore be underestimated on the basis of assumed knowledge and skills.

6.3       It was noted that Members (particularly those recently elected) are unclear about what training and development opportunities can be provided and, furthermore, what types of training are acceptable to request? This lack of direction and guidance may therefore deter Members from raising requests for training.

6.4       The Committee agreed that whilst offers of training should be reactive to Member requirements on an individual, Council-role or Committee-role basis, officers should equally be proactive in informing Members of the training opportunities available and how these can be arranged or accessed. In this respect, Members suggested that a skills or training audit could usefully be undertaken to ascertain the appetite for different types of training. Members noted that a formal evaluation of the Member Induction Programme was due to be undertaken over the coming months and the aforementioned audit to inform the future direction of Members training could usefully be incorporated.

6.4       The Committee suggested that, as a starting point, the following training and development areas should be explored:

·           Basic Council-specific information not covered in the Member induction programme such as key officer contacts at front-line level, as opposed to Strategic Director level;

·           A tour of the Borough and site visits to key Council buildings and/or places of significance (i.e. where headline projects are being undertaken);

·           Council finances – both in terms of the overarching framework of how local government is funded (external training) and how the City Council’s finances operate and are managed at a local level (internal officer-led training);

·           Council democracy and governance – how the committee framework and the Leader and Cabinet Member decision-making model operates; how formal reports are prepared; how information can be accessed; and key contacts in this respect;

·           How external training providers and/or professional bodies such as Local Government Association, London Councils, Local Government Information Unit and Universities can offer best practice training across a range of areas and functions.

6.5              In respect of accessing information, Members noted that a new Council website had recently been launched, in addition to a new Committee Management system (Modern.Gov). The Committee therefore suggested that all Members should be informed of how to access Committee, Council and Cabinet Member Reports and documents and key contacts in this respect (perhaps through the Weekly Information Bulletin or a one-off bespoke email addressing the matter).

6.6              RESOLVED: That the Scrutiny Manager, Head of Cabinet Secretariat and Member Services Manager be requested to consider how Member training can be developed and enhanced going forward, in light of the Committee’s suggestions as detailed above.