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.

At this point in the meeting Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the agenda. None were declared.

Members are asked to approve the minutes of the last meeting of the Steering Group held on 24 November 2010.

RESOLVED:             That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 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 15 March 2011.

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

This report sets out the final proposed Induction Strategy and programme for newly elected Members during 2011/12.

Members considered a report which outlined the final proposed induction strategy and programme for newly elected Members during 2011/12. Attached at Annex A was the final draft of the strategy, Members of the Steering Group had approved the draft in September 2010.

Officers outlined the report and advised Members of the following key points:

• The Strategy had been seen by Group Leaders the Chief Executive and they were happy with it.
• Group leaders had reminded Officers to be mindful of the budget and to try and limit the use of external training providers where possible.
• In respect of Personal Development Plans, the Council does not yet have enough experience of administering them to enable to exchange with another Council in undertaking them.
• The workshop outlined on page 16 of annex a, ‘Time Management and the Modern Councillor’ is deemed too important to stop and it and will continue to be offered to new Members.
• In week 9 of the Induction programme, York will be hosting the regional Induction Event which is usually held in Leeds which is good news for York.

The Chair pointed out that a Safeguarding Children and Adults training session appeared to be missing from the programme and felt that is should be incorporated early due to its importance. It was also commented that whilst being mindful of the budget, it is impossible to expect that everything can be covered in house.

RESOLVED:             That Members recommended that the final draft Induction Strategy/Programme for 2011/12 be adopted subject to any further comments arising from Council Management Team.

REASON:                  To enable arrangements for the delivery of a planned induction programme for 2011/2012 to commence.

This report sets out the draft proposed core programme of training and development for Members, covering 2011/2012.

Members considered a report which outlined the draft proposed core programme of training and development for Members covering 2011/2012.

Officers outlined the report and highlighted the following points to Members:

• The suggestion that the 2 Leadership Academy places will be withdrawn from the programme due to the high cost of the course. Groups can still apply for a Member to attend the course, but will be required to make a case. For example, if a change of Leader is expected, then the Group can make an application to the Member Development Steering Group for consideration. The free place will still be available.
• Interactive Workshop for Planning Training as detailed on page 25 of the agenda is a new approach to planning training suggested by the Assistant Director of Legal, Governance and ITT.
• Training can be offered to Parish Councils and Members suggested making a small charge.

Members suggested that a further report should be brought back to the Steering Group regarding criteria for attendance the leadership academy.

RESOLVED:             That Members approved the draft Core Programme for 2011/12, subject to the comments detailed above.

REASON:                  To enable arrangements for the delivery of planned events for 2011/2012 to commence.

This report informs Members of the take up to date at events offered in the second half of 2010/2011 through the Core Programme, together with a summary of feedback received.  This information has helped inform the final draft of the Core Programme (see separate report on agenda for this meeting) to be offered to Members during 2011/12.

Members considered a report which informed them of the take up to date of events offered in the second half of 2010/2011 through the Core Programme, together with a summary of feedback received.

Officers advised that there had been many positive comments and reviews of the training and development events.

Members thanked the Senior Member Support Officer for arranging the programme.

RESOLVED:             That Members commented on the report as detailed above, and referred the report to the Standards Committee for consideration as set out in paragraph 17.

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