Agenda item

To consider a report on the Council Policy on Member Training (copy attached) from the Democratic Services Manager, Steve Price.

 

The Lead Member for Corporate Strategy, Policy and Equalities introduced the report to Members. The report was welcomed, and Member training should be seen as a positive attribute of being a Councillor.

 

The Democratic Services Manager guided members through the report (previously circulated).

 

A programme of member inductions, training and development commenced immediately after Council elections in May 2022. The sessions delivered as part of the initial induction for new and returning members included training in the Council’s Code of Conduct, members’ ICT provision, familiarisation with services, equality and diversity, safeguarding and an introduction to Scrutiny.

 

Mandatory and Discretionary Training

 

The Council could decide to designate certain training as being mandatory for all members, or for members undertaking certain roles. Attending at least one training session on the Members’ Code of Conduct during each full term of office was mandatory because the requirement was included in the Council’s Code of Conduct. The Council has continued to operate mandatory training for members of the Planning Committee, because of the quasi-judicial role being undertaken. Mandatory training which was decided by the previous Council was outlined to members.

 

In June 2023 the Democratic Services Committee recommended the setting of reasonable mandatory training requirements for appropriate subjects and roles. The committee thought the use of ‘once a term’ as a timescale for mandatory training to be completed as being unsuitable. The committee supported a role for the political groups and group leaders in encouraging compliance with any mandatory training requirements and supported the use of appropriate sanctions for non-compliance.

 

In July 2023 full Council considered member training issues however, it was unable to agree a Council Policy on mandatory training and referred member training for consideration by group leaders who subsequently requested that a survey be issued to clarify the views of members.

 

The results of the survey, which was opened in February 2024 and closed on the 8 March and was open to Councillors, Senior Officers and Lay Members were outlined to Members (appendix 1, previously circulated).

 

The Chair thanked the Democratic Services Manager for the report.

 

The Chair suggested that the results of the survey should be used to inform the Committees decision. It was agreed that each topic of training would be voted on individually.

 

The results of the Committee votes were as follows –

·       Chairing of Meetings – Mandatory for Certain Members

·       Climate Change/ Ecological Emergency – Mandatory for all

·       Code of Conduct -Mandatory for all

·       Corporate Governance – Mandatory for certain Members

·       Corporate Parenting – Mandatory for all

·       Data Protection – Mandatory for all

·       Equality/ Diversity – Mandatory for all

·       Gypsy and Traveller – Mandatory for all

·       Health and Safety – Mandatory for all

·       Local Government Finance and Budget Setting – Mandatory for all

·       Licensing – Mandatory for Certain Members

·       Mental Health and Well-being – Mandatory for all

·       Performance data – Not Mandatory

·       Planning Committee – Mandatory for Certain Members

·       Questioning Skills – Not Mandatory

·       Safeguarding – Mandatory

·       Schools and Education – Not Mandatory

·       Scrutiny- Mandatory for all

·       Well-being of Future Generations Act – Mandatory for all

·       Welsh Language Standards – Not Mandatory

Members discussed the importance of the Welsh Language Standards training and the Monitoring Officer explained that this training related to the incorporation of the Welsh language within everyday Council workings for example correspondence in Welsh, which the Council needed to legally adhere to, not the wider Welsh Language and Culture.

The Democratic Service Manager continued to explain the sanctions element of the report. Members needed to agree on the sanctions they wished to put forward to Council.

 

Members discussed the need for sanctions to be positively enforced and discussed the proposed sanctions within the report.

 

Members felt that it would be inappropriate to publish individual Members training records on the Denbighshire County Council public website and felt that group leaders receiving this information to discuss with their Members would be a more suitable sanction.

 

Following an in-depth discussion, it was –

 

RESOLVED: that the Democratic Services Committee seeks Council approval to the mandatory requirements for each topic as outlined in the bullet-points above and to the provision of member training records to the group leaders for the groups to encourage and enforce compliance with the Council’s policy on member training.