Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting Members were asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the agenda.  Councillor Gunnell declared a personal interest in agenda item 5 – “Next Steps in the Core Programme” as a member of the Management Committee of the Welfare Benefits Unit.

RESOLVED:       That the minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2011 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

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

Officers gave a presentation on the council’s “Do it Online” self-serve portal.  A demonstration was given as to the range of services that were available using the portal and the ways in which Members could use the system. 

Members stated that it would be particularly beneficial if the system better enabled them to track the progress of issues that they had reported. 

Members’ views were sought as to how use of the system could be promoted to other Members.  They suggested that updates be provided by email.¹

RESOLVED:       That the services available through the “Do it Online” portal be noted and that the group be kept informed of future developments.

REASON:           To ensure that Members are kept informed of the benefits of the new portal.

Members received a report that provided details of the take up of training events and a summary and analysis of the feedback received.  The report also included details of the next steps in the core programme.

Members made the following comments:

·        The Member Development & Training Policy should be amended to make training compulsory for any Member serving on Corporate Appeals Panels.

·        Concerns were expressed at some of the contradictory ratings and comments in respect of several of the training sessions.  It was agreed that the evaluation form should be reviewed to ensure that it enabled accurate and informative feedback to be obtained from attendees.¹

·        When data included percentage figures, it would also be beneficial to include the number of individuals concerned.

·        In respect of pre-council briefings, consideration should be given to repeating these sessions to provide a second opportunity for Members to attend.

·        Members welcomed the suggestion that a minibus or bike tour of the city be arranged to raise awareness of the council’s assets.

·        Consideration should be given to holding a further IT drop-in session.

·        A training session on the personalisation agenda should be included in the programme.

·        Consideration should be given to setting a minimum number of attendees to determine whether a training session was viable. 

·        When arranging training sessions, every effort should be made to avoid scheduling these at times which clashed with meetings or other council events.

·        In respect of training sessions that were delivered by officers from within the Council, it was suggested that consideration be given as to whether opportunities could be made available to officers to develop their skills as trainers.  Whilst it was recognised that officers had subject knowledge, they may not necessarily have skills in delivering this information to a group as part of training event.   

Officers were thanked for their work in preparing the training programme.

RESOLVED:       (i)      That the comments detailed above be

noted and taken into account in the planning of future training opportunities.

(ii)      That the findings of the report be forwarded to the Standards Committee.

(iii)     That the Member Development Training Policy be revised to make training compulsory for any Member serving on the Corporate Appeals Panel.

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

Officers gave a verbal update on the Member Development Budget  2010/11 and 2011/12.   It was noted that the predicted outturn was in line with the budget that had been set.  A sum of £450 had been put aside for those PDRs that were still outstanding.  A further update on the budget would be provided at the next meeting, including details of expenditure on attendance at conferences.

RESOLVED:       That the position in respect of the budget be noted.

REASON:           To ensure that Members are kept informed of expenditure on development and training.

Consideration was given to the future work plan of the Member Development Steering Group.  It was noted that an item on the Annual Report would be included on the agenda for the meeting in October 2011.

RESOLVED:       That the work plan be approved.

REASON:           In order to provide the Steering Group with a work programme for future meetings.

Members paid tribute to the work that Amanda Oxley had carried out as Senior Member Support Officer.  Amanda would be leaving the council after many years of service and would be greatly missed.

Details were given of the interim arrangements that had been put in place in respect of member training.