Agenda item

Councillor Taylor moved onto the Cabinet Report and stated that it had been dealt with by Councillor Collins who had then spoken to him about what they thought. Councillor Taylor ran through the Member Development Programme from Page 19-23 on the Agenda. He drew attention to the list of mandatory training and noted that this was for Cabinet to agree on.

Councillor Banks referred to paragraph 2.1 of the Cabinet Report and voiced that the attendance figures were disappointing. She continued that the proposed consequences for failing to attend mandatory training as detailed in paragraph 2.5 seemed quite thorough and agreed that if Councillors did not consistently complete the bare minimum that was required of them, in attending mandatory training, that a formal reprimand was sound. Councillor Taylor referred to previous mandatory training concerning Prevent and Trafficking and Modern Slavery and stated that this had been obligatory for all councillors and all staff and that some did not attend because they had attended similar training in the past. He also referred to paragraph 2.5 and noted that the proposed consequences provide some policing and added that perhaps Councillors could be removed from their respective committees if they consistently failed to attend mandatory training, or that their voting rights on their committee could be withdrawn as a type of reprimand. Councillor Taylor noted that they had made progress and had come a long way forward.

KM stated that she was working with Mark Brookes and Councillor Collins to decide which training should be mandatory. She added that the Budget setting process training had been brought in earlier. KM continued that training such as Media (and Social Media), Safeguarding and GDPR were seen as important and therefore suggested as mandatory, especially since some of these areas have legal ramifications.  

Councillor Douris queried the use of the word ‘mandatory’ and suggested using the word ‘obligatory’ instead. He continued that the use of the word ‘mandatory’ could be used for training that was legal or statutory, such as Prevent but that the word ‘obligatory’ may be more appropriate for the non-statutory training. Councillor Douris added that he had concerns about what Councillor Taylor had said regarding removing Councillors from their respective committees or withdrawing their voting rights on these committees. He continued that if Councillors had not completed relevant committee training then they would not be on the committee in the first place. Councillor Douris added that it would be difficult to withdraw a Councillors committee voting rights.

Councillor Taylor commented on the wording for ‘mandatory’ training and stated that Mark Brookes felt that ‘mandatory’ was a better word for these training sessions.

Councillor Douris reiterated the need for at least two sessions for each of the mandatory training sessions and raised his concerns about the availability of dates and officers providing this amount of training. KM stated that spare dates had been allocated from the timetable, which were dates on which there were no scheduled meetings or sessions. She confirmed that John Worts was happy to deliver two GDPR sessions and that Mark Brookes would be delivering 2 sessions on the Council’s Constitution & Code of Conduct.

Councillor Douris queried the use of the Local Government Association as a training provider. KM stated that the LGA provided training at a lower cost to most other providers. Councillor Douris raised that it could be more refreshing to have new people delivering training sessions as he recognised some of the names on the proposed Member Development Programme 2019/20. KM responded that Charlie Webber had researched different providers, what they offer and the cost of training. Councillor Douris enquired about David McGrath as a training provider and noted that mayoral training delivered by him came at a cost of £1,500 and that the cost of his training was expensive.

Councillor Hicks referred to the Hertfordshire Association of Parish and Town Councils (HAPTC) as a potential training provider. Councillor Douris agreed that the HAPTC offered an insight into what Town and Parish Councils could get from their Councillors as well as what Councillors could get out of their Town and Parish Councils. Councillor Taylor commented that he had been on a course about the relationship between District & Borough councils with Town & Parish councils and that there had been an MP talking about it and that it had been informative.

Councillor Taylor commented that he was pleased with the Member Development Update and that it had developed well. Councillor Banks agreed that it shows MDSG’s journey well.

KM referred to paragraph 4.2 of the Cabinet Report and raised a mentoring programme and Personal Development Plans (PDPs). Councillor Taylor noted that PDPs used to be used every year and involved every member of staff but said that it needed to be more than a 5 minute process and that it was also expensive if provided externally. KM responded that she had discussed PDPs with Mark Brookes and that they were developing a framework for this to be completed internally. Councillor Douris commented that paragraph 4.2 could be taken out of the Cabinet Report and that PDPs had been brought up at a Portfolio Holder meeting and he did not think that people would attend PDP sessions. Councillor Taylor commented on paragraph 4.2 and the use of the wording ‘ward matters’ and what this would entail. KM responded that they were looking at a buddy system for new councillors. Councillor Taylor added that buddying was very different from PDPs. Councillor Silwal commented that he through that PDPs might not be popular as it could be seen as an additional thing to do in Councillors’ voluntary role. Councillor Douris disagreed with Councillor Silwal on the notion that Councillors’ roles were voluntary. Councillor Taylor agreed with Councillor Douris and stated that a PDP would lay out goals for Councillors to achieve a successful term as part of their contract as a Councillor. Councillor Silwal added that Councillors should be more interested in issues concerning their ward. Councillor Taylor added that PDPs would only be useful if Councillors bought into the process. Councillor Douris commented that that the buddy system was a good idea for new Councillors finding their feet and that when you are first elected it can be daunting. He continued that a PDP had the impression of being more capability-based and was linked to the Councillors Code of Conduct which has an element of expectation. Councillor Taylor stated that paragraph 4.2 should be left as it is but perhaps with the inclusion of a buddying system as an idea that can be added. He continued that perhaps taking the word ‘Plan’ out of ‘Personal Development Plan’ could be a potential option. KM responded that she can feed this information back to Mark Brookes to be shared at Cabinet. Councillor Taylor stated that he was happy to agree with all that had been discussed.

Councillor Taylor asked if anyone had any more to add. Councillor Hicks commented that he had found the bus tour quite useful, but that it was no longer being used as part of the Induction. KM responded that a booklet containing information about the wards as well as points of interest in each ward was being produced instead. Councillor Douris queried whether information about social deprivation and social need could be added to the booklet. KM responded that the information in the booklets was based on the 2011 census and questioned how factual and relevant information about social deprivation and social need would be. Councillor Douris agreed that the information would probably be outdated. Councillor Taylor referred to a document titled ‘Data-based decision-making’ and that this could be useful for the production of the booklets. Councillor Douris added that Herts. Insight may also prove useful.

Councillor Taylor asked that his grateful thanks be extended to all members of the Committee and wished them all well for the future.

Councillor Douris commended Councillor Taylor’s skill, verb, passion and humour as Chair of the Committee. Councillor Banks and Councillor Silwal agreed.