Training and skills for members

All six authorities shortlisted for the 2009 Standards and Ethics award had good, regular training programmes for councillors and standard committee members. Some councils have even made Code of Conduct training compulsory for district councillors. The six shortlisted councils have a clear work programme for their standards committee - going beyond complaints and probity to cover a wider remit.

Notable practice from the 2009 annual returns

Identifying and assessing member training needs

At Leicester City Council all members have undertaken a skills audit designed to test knowledge and understanding of constitutional and ethical issues. Also, bite-sized learning is available on a number of topics in this area and training on the Code of Conduct is mandatory.

The standards committee of the London Borough of Islington agree the member training and development programme each year. It is based on feedback from the previous year's programme, discussions with the party whips, and from responses to an annual members' survey. The programme is split into specific skills training, knowledge based events, 1:1 support and group support.

Examples from the 2010 LGC standards and ethics award shortlist

Waveney District Council organised a ‘Planning Ahead’ conference, which gave planning committee members the chance to look at the ethical challenges of the planning process. Speakers from Standards for England and the Planning Advisory Service worked with more than 60 councillors, monitoring officers and planning officers from ten local authorities.

The London Borough of Bromley’s standards committee will work with a panel of councillors to determine the ethical governance training requirements and processes for new councillors following the May 2010 elections. They also provide specific training for councillors regularly involved in development control deliberations, to ensure that ethical issues relating to planning are fully understood and appropriate guidance issued.

West Somerset Council have developed compulsory Code of Conduct training for all council members, and have facilitated training for the 42 parishes in the area.

Leeds City Council incorporate training on the Code of Conduct into training on other matters, such as annual training provided to members of the planning and licensing committee. This ensures members can see how the Code applies to their role. Leeds have also developed an e-learning package, ‘Cracking the Code’, which includes briefing notes on frequently asked questions about the Code and example complaints. A similar package for council officers has also been created, and the standards committee are shaping up a set of core competencies for ethical governance to be included in an ethical governance toolkit.

South Cambridgeshire County Council provided training for all members on ‘The Code of Conduct, Pre-Determination and Bias’. All new members receive personal training on both the Code and the work of the standards committee.

Examples from the 2009 Standards and Ethics Award shortlist

• Rossendale Borough Council are focused on member development and have worked with the IDeA on a learning programme. All their councillors also have a personal development plan. Some councils ensure their members receive media and presentation skills so they are well equipped to deal with the local media's questions.
• Leeds City Council develop training in formats tailored to their members needs and now provide e-learning courses for councillors to give them extra guidance on the Code of Conduct. Their standards committee review the decisions of the First-tier Tribunal (Local Government Standards in England) and consider any lessons the council could learn.
• Newark and Sherwood District Council worked with the Local Government Training Unit and with qualified mediators to develop a course on mediation, which was attended by over 50 delegates from all over England and Wales.
• Leeds City Council has provided all their parish councillors with access to a new online training system from the IDeA called ‘Modern Councillor'.
• As part of Rossendale Borough Council's standards committee's commitment to learning and development; at every meeting members consider a real-life case study of standards issues from another authority to discuss what can be learned from the situation and applied in Rossendale.
• Rossendale Borough Council's councillors serving on Development Control or Licensing Committee must receive training before taking up their position so that they are aware of protocols, policies and regulations governing these meetings.
• Newark and Sherwood District Council has developed a recruitment pack for the appointment of independent members containing a job description, person specification, advertisement and guidance on legislative requirements. A copy of this is referenced on ACSeS' website.

Links

• The IDeA run a councillor mentoring programme that aims to provide peer support to councillors and is available for all local authorities.