Agenda and minutes

To elect a Member to act as Chair of the meeting.

RESOLVED: That Cllr Runciman be elected to act as Chair of the Steering Group.

At this point, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda. 

Cllr Runciman declared a personal, non prejudicial interest in the business generally, as an IDeA Member Peer.

Cllr Potter declared a personal, non prejudicial interest in the business generally, as an IDeA Member Peer and a Peer Challenger.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or a matter within the Group’s remit can do so. The deadline for registering is 5:00 pm on Tuesday, 5 May 2009.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

To receive a verbal report from Mike Leitch, of Local Government Yorkshire and Humber, providing an overview of the issues involved in working towards achieving charter status.

Members received a verbal report from Mike Leitch, a consultant for Local Government Yorkshire and Humber, on the issues involved in working towards the achievement of Charter status.

Mr Leitch outlined the purpose of the Charter standard, which had been introduced as a national scheme in 2000 in order to raise the profile of Member training, to provide a structure and format for training delivery and to ensure the provision of Member-led training.  Yorkshire and the Humber was a leading region in this area of work, with 13 authorities in the region already holding Charter status.  The process of gaining Charter status required the Council to make a formal declaration, to create a Steering Group, and to undergo an assessment, which would be carried out by himself and selected Members from another council in the region.  However, it was not simply a matter of ‘ticking boxes’, the aim being rather to tailor the provision of training and development to suit the particular needs of the authority and its Members.  The assessors would be looking for evidence of progress made by the authority against the assessment criteria, which had recently been revised.  This evidence could include the minutes of the Steering Group, as well as improvements made over time in areas such as Members’ Personal Development Plans (PDPs).

During their discussion, Members noted that, although a considerable amount of work had been carried out in York on Member development over the years, it had not been formally ‘captured’.  They accepted the need for Member-led training and the increasing demand for internet courses and remote IT access but took the view that a mixed media approach was needed to training delivery and that PDPs should be conducted by an independent consultant, to ensure consistency.  

RESOLVED: (i)         That the verbal report be noted and that Mike Leitch be thanked for his attendance.

                        (ii)        That a copy of the revised assessment criteria be circulated to Members of the Steering Group.¹

REASON:      For information and to assist the Group in their work.

This report sets out agreed terms of reference for the Member Development Steering Group and presents for Members’ approval a proposed Annual Work Plan for the Group in 2009-2010.

Members considered a report which reminded them of the terms of reference for the Member Development Steering Group, as agreed at Full Council on 2 April 2009 (Annex A), and presented a proposed annual Work Plan for the Group in 2009/10 (Annex B).

The Work Plan set out key actions in the Member Training and Development annual cycle and the Charter Implementation Plan.  To ensure a structured approach to training and development, the Steering Group would report three times per year to the Standards Committee, which could then pass on any recommendations in respect of funding etc. to Full Council.

The Group queried whether 360° appraisals (included in the Plan for consideration in June) were suitable for use with Members.  They noted that it would be helpful to have an external advisor (such as Mike Leitch) present at future meetings and drew attention to the need to capture the development work being carried out by Members themselves, both within political groups and via the IDeA Peer process. 

RESOLVED: (i)         That the Annual Work Plan at Annex B to the report be approved.

                        (ii)        That a copy of the Charter Implementation Plan be circulated to Members of the Steering Group.¹

                        (iii)       That Mike Leitch be invited to provide advice to Officers on documentation to be considered by the Steering Group and to attend meetings when required. ²

REASON:      To ensure a structured and informed approach to the work of the Steering Group.

This report sets out the first draft of a proposed programme of Member Development events for the municipal year 2009-2010.

Members considered a report which presented a draft programme of Member Development events for the year 2009/10.

Members made some initial comments on the draft programme, whilst noting that they would need to discuss it further with their groups.  In particular, they commented that:

• The programme did not include any Planning training events.
• The ‘Looking after the Children’ session scheduled for July should not be delivered by Cllr Runciman, although she could chair the session.
• A separate session on Safeguarding Children should be included in the programme, to be delivered by the Chair of the Safeguarding Board and the Safeguarding Manager.

RESOLVED: That the draft programme be e-mailed to Steering Group Members to enable them to discuss the programme with their groups and provide a response in time for consideration at the next meeting.¹

REASON:      So that the programme can be finalised after appropriate consultation with Members.

To receive information on the dates of future meetings of the Steering Group in 2009-2010 and of those bodies to which it will be reporting.

Members received a list of scheduled future meetings of the Group for the year 2009/10.  The start time for each meeting would be 4:00 pm.

RESOLVED: That the list of scheduled meetings be noted and approved.

REASON:      For information.