Agenda item

Report of the Chair of the Member Development Panel, Councillor Jackie Chelin

As Chair of the Member Development Panel, Councillor Chelin was pleased to present the report, and to thank her fellow Panel Members, Councillors Pemberton and Davies, and Democratic Services officers for their hard work. 

She highlighted the following:

-       CBC achieved its Councillor Development Charter from Southwest Councils in May.  Thanks to Councillors Hay, Tailford, Collins and Davies, and to officers for their input.  We are currently working on the recommendations of the assessment panel, including clarifying the role of champions, including:

-     clarifying the role of champions, with draft role descriptions to be submitted to the

constitution working group in due course.  We currently have champions for cycling and walking, safeguarding, and refugees, but can give consideration to others in future, including youth;

-     Councillor Chelin has acted as an assessor for another local authority reviewing its charter and applying for Charter Plus accreditation, which provides a useful model for CBC to observe and possibly adopt;

-     as good practice, Democratic Services have organised IT drop-in sessions in advance  of major committees to help colleagues, and will be doing more, including help for Members to use Microsoft Teams more fully;

-     the buddying scheme for new Members and senior officers is helpful, but other authorities have a more formal and ongoing arrangement; we can look to encourage more engagement in our scheme;

-     a new approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training is currently being sourced for roll-out in February or March;

-     a skills audit has been circulated to all Members, to share information about the general skills they bring from their working and professional lives, which may be useful in their councillor roles;

-     Members are invited to feed back any concerns about training and development not only at meetings but also through formal requests for consideration of any ideas and questions;

-     Planning training is important and to ensure access for all Members, we are looking to make it available at different times of the day and on line.

There were no questions.  Members thanked Councillor Chelin for her excellent chairing of the Member Development Panel, and made the following comments:

-       we have come a long way in way with the training delivered to Members, and they are encouraged to complete the skills audit, particularly if they have something to offer or contribute which might encourage others to come forward to be councillors;

-       in other parts of the world, women are stepping away from politics out of fear and the fear of intimidation, and this is having an enormous effect on democracies.  Here, we are giving all Members the feeling they belong, are supported, and can get help if needed.  This is really important, and demonstrated by the range of councillors we have at CBC, making a real difference for the town;

-       Members’ skills and interests are very wide ranging and useful.  Members should also keep an eye on Local Government Authority training, especially if stepping up into leadership roles.

No vote was required on this item.