Agenda and minutes

 At this point in the meeting, members are invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may 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.  None were declared.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2010 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

RESOLVED:             That the minutes of the meeting of the Steering Group held on the 12 January 2010 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

It is at this point in the meeting that members of the public who have registered their wish to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is 5pm on Tuesday 30 March 2010.

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

This report sets out some initial suggestions for the proposed programme of Member Development events for 2010/2011.

Members considered a report which set out some initial suggestions for the proposed Member Development events for 2010/11.

The Council’s 2009/10 programme is coming to a close and the monitoring and attendance and feedback will be reviewed by the Member Development Steering Group and any findings would be utilised to inform the next programme. Annex A to the report contained the first draft of events for the 2010/11 programme. Members were invited to make further suggestions and comments. Members commented on the following:

• Equality training and whether an update would be required in light of new legislation. Social Inclusion Working Group may be able to offer assistance with this.`
• Pre-Council Seminars and the inconvenient timing of them for some Members and the possibility of them being called Pre-Council Briefings.
• Possibility of regular Chief Executive briefings.
• Format of the booklet detailing the programme of events – it would be useful in electronic format with links to e-learning and a link to where slides and handouts can be located online.

RESOLVED:             That Members endorsed the initial suggestions for a draft outline Member Development Programme, with the above comments taken into consideration.¹

REASON:                  To enable arrangements for the delivery of planned events for 2010/11 to commence.

This report advises Members on a range of individual role profiles for Members with a view to them being adopted by City of York Council in its journey to gain the ID&eA Member Development Charter.

Members considered a report which introduced a range of individual role profiles for Members with a view to them being adopted by the Council as part of the bid to gain ID&eA Charter Status.

The existence of role profiles for Local Authority Members is considered good practice by the ID&eA  and generally, Local Authorities who have introduced role profiles have achieved Charter Status. In addition, role profiles are beneficial in providing a clear explanation of the various responsibilities knowledge, skills associated with being an elected member. Having researched role profiles adopted in other authorities in the region, some potential role profiles for York had been suggested by the Steering Group had been developed further by Officers and attached at Annex B.

Members commented that they would like to consult with their respective political groups on the role profiles and asked the Senior Member Support Officer to produce a word document of the information contained between agenda pages 35 and 45 which could be circulated to other Members for comments.

Members also felt it would be useful for all members to see the ID&eA Skills Framework so they can see what they should be aiming for and what kind of training they may require.

Overall the Steering Group were positive about the draft profiles for York and approved the recommendation.

RESOLVED: (i)That Members supported the introduction of role profiles for Members in York, as set out in Annex B, subject to further consultation with key officers and political groups and authorised the Chair to liaise with officers on the next steps in the process.

(ii)That information requested above be made  available to Members.¹

REASON:                  In order to comply with the requirement of the ID&eA Charter.

This report informs Members of the take up to date at events offered as part of the current Member Training & Development Programme together with a summary of feedback received from attendees for each of the events for the period November 2009 to March 2010.

Members considered a report which informed them of the take up to date at events offered in the second half of 2009/2010, together with a summary of feedback received.

The report had been brought to the Steering Group early to ensure any relevant information can be fed into the draft outline programme of development opportunities for 2010/11. Details of Member attendance levels at events offered as part of the Training and Development Programme were attached at Annex A and evaluation of events which had taken place between November 2009 to March 2010 were attached at Annex B.

Officers advised that Members need to inform the Member Support team if they attend any events which could count towards their target number and that poor take up by some Members would be addressed with the Groups.

Members commented they were pleased with the positive results outlined at Annex B and they were happy to refer the report to the Standards Committee.

RESOLVED:             That Members agreed to refer the report to the Standards Committee for consideration as part of an annual evaluation monitor to be subsequently considered by Full Council.

REASON:                  In order to comply with the monitoring arrangements set out in the Steering Group’s Terms of Reference as approved by Council.

The Member Development Steering Group’s Work Plan is attached for the Group’s consideration.

Consideration was given to the Committee’s work plan.

Members agreed to move the 5th May meeting to a date further on in that month, possibly the 19^th. The Democracy Officer would email Members with the details. 

Members also discussed the Member Development Policy Protocol and requested a verbal update be given at a future meeting.

RESOLVED:             That Members noted the Work Plan and the amendments detailed above.

REASON:                  To ensure that a robust work plan is in place for the Member Development Steering Group.