Agenda item

Report attached.

Cabinet was requested to consider a report of Councillor Peter Britcliffe, Acting Leader of the Council, to update Members about the recent work of the Learning & Development Panel and to seek support for a new Member Development Strategy. 

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision

Reasons for Decision

Until recently, the Council’s Learning & Development Panel had not met for some considerable time. The Council’s accreditation against the North West Employers Member Development Charter had also lapsed and Members take up of training opportunities was inconsistent, with some training events very poorly attended.  In response to Member feedback it was decided that the member development process needed to be reinvigorated and the Learning & Development Panel met in October 2023 to agree a way forward.  The report reflected the work and proposals of the Panel.

The Panel had developed the attached draft Member Development Strategy, which was presented to Cabinet for approval.  In summary, the Strategy proposed that:

·         All members would attend ‘core’ training in the basic skills required for the role (e.g. code of conduct, social media awareness, decision-making and data protection, plus training linked to serving on certain statutory committees such as Planning or Audit)

·         A further programme of training would be offered in addition to the compulsory elements;

·         The ‘Sixty Minute’ sessions would be relaunched as short, focussed, interactive sessions, giving members the chance to ask questions about key services and activities;

·         All members would be offered a one-to-one meeting each year to focus on their individual training needs, which would lead to the production of their own personal development plan.

To show the Council’s commitment to delivering a diverse training programme for members, an additional £5000 had been set aside for member training in 2024-25, giving a total training pot of £10,000.  This would hopefully give more scope to vary training provision, which in recent years had been delivered almost exclusively in-house by HBC officers.

The Learning & Development Panel had also recommended that, by 31^st March 2025, the Council should seek accreditation to level 1 of the North West Employers Development Charter to demonstrate the Council’s commitment to improving the training and development opportunities available to members.  An explanation of the level 1 requirements and the evidence needed to demonstrate compliance was attached as Appendix 2 to the report.  Working towards level 1 accreditation would also provide a useful frame work for improving the Council’s member development ‘offer’ over the coming year and would guide the work of the Learning & Development Panel. 

The Learning & Development Panel was very keen to revamp the member induction process for newly elected councillor which will run as soon as possible after the May elections.  All members had been consulted about this, but only a very limited response had been received.  A summary of the responses received and the proposed changes to the induction process were set out in Appendix 3 of the report.

Alternative Options

Cabinet could have decided not to approve the strategy and/or the proposal to pursue accreditation, however, this was not recommended.  The role of Councillor had become increasingly complex and demanding in recent years and renewing efforts to equip Councillors with the skills they needed should support the Council’s ability to meet its strategic objectives.

Resolved                           (1)   That, Cabinet approved the draft Member Development Strategy 2024 – 2027 attached as Appendix 1 to the report;

                                (2)   That Cabinet agreed to work towards achievement of level 1 of the North West Employers Member Development Charter by 31^st March 2025;

                                (3)   That Cabinet welcomed the proposal to recommence individual member development meetings with each member of the Council and urged all Councillors to support the process and make the most of the training opportunities available;

                                (4)   That Cabinet welcomed the additional £5,000 funding for member development in the 2024-25 budget and a report be requested from the Learning & Development Panel setting out its proposals for expenditure of the same; and

                                (5)   That Cabinet noted and supported the proposals for the 2025 member induction process as set out in Appendix 3 of the report – Member Personal Development Review.