DEMOCRACY COMMITTEE			8 March 2017
Is the final decision on the recommendations in this report to be made at this meeting?				No

Member Training Discussion Item

Final Decision-Maker	Democracy Committee
Lead Head of Service	Head of Policy and Communications
Lead Officer and Report Author	Angela Woodhouse, Head of
Classification	Public
Wards affected

This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:
1. That the Committee gives consideration as to how best to involve councillors in next year�s member training programme as well as contributing its own suggestions prior to a full report in July 2017.

This report relates to the following corporate priorities:
� Keeping Maidstone Borough an attractive place for all � Securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough

Timetable
*Meeting*		*Date*
Democracy Committee		8 March 2017
Democracy Committee		3 July 2017

Member Training Discussion Item

1. PURPOSE OF REPORT AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 The purpose of the report is to give the Committee an opportunity to consider member development ahead of the finalisation of the Member Development Plan 2017-18 which will come to the committee in July.

2. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

2.1 The report on the Member Development Plan that the committee receives in July sets out the spend on training for the previous year, the budget for the next year and suggested courses and professional development for consideration by the Committee.

2.2 The Committee is asked for its input at an earlier stage in relation to the professional development plan for next year and how to engage councillors in this process outside of the Democracy Committee.

3. AVAILABLE OPTIONS

3.1 The Committee is asked to consider the current key areas of Member Development and whether these remain appropriate:

� Support and build on existing skills for their role in the community now and in the future

� Support and build on existing skills for the various roles undertaken within and on behalf of the Council

3.2 Training over 2016-17 included:

� Committee specific training such as planning, licensing and audit training sessions

� Briefing sessions and workshops on topics that are of interest to members including devolution, housing, economic development strategy, resident survey, budget planning and performance management

� Interests

� LGA leadership academy

� New member induction

3.3 This training is similar to previous years are there other areas that we should be offering training on for example:

� Chairing skills

� Questioning skill, effective meeting skills

� Committee procedures for Councillors

� Social media or other communications training

3.4 Attendance at training varies with some sessions attracting more members than others. The Committee is asked to consider this when reviewing the member development programme.

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3.5 This is the first stage in the process, the input from this committee will be used to shape the Member Development Programme for next year. This will be reported to this Committee in July 2017.

4. PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1 This paper is presented to promote discussion and consideration amongst the committee on the member training and development to inform the programme for 2017-18.

5. CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

5.1 This report is part of the consultation on the training and development programme for Councillors.

6. NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

6.1 The Committee can agree further action such as a member survey to develop and inform the program. The decisions and recommendations made by the Committee will inform the Member Development Programme for 2017-18 which will be considered again in July 2017.

CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

Issue	Implications	Sign-off
Impact on Corporate Priorities	This is a cross cutting requirement as Member involvement is essential for the delivery of all priorities and good decision making impacts on the whole council.	Head of Policy and Communications
Risk Management	The risks associated with not investing in a planned approach to learning and development are that the investment does not lead to supporting good decisions and the expenditure on learning and development fails to deliver value for money.	Head of Policy and Communications
Financial	The annual budget for Member Development and Conferences is �10,600 any programme developed will be within this budget and this will be considered when Members make the decision on the programme in July.	Head of Policy and Communications
Staffing	There will be an impact in terms of officer time to develop, deliver and arrange training.	Head of Policy and Communications
Legal	Some training proposed may relate to effective and legal decision making.	Interim Deputy Head of Legal Partnership
Equality Impact Needs Assessment	The training will need to be delivered flexibly and in line with equality policies to ensure there us equal access to training opportunities.	Policy & Information Manager
Environmental/Sustainable Development	None identified at this time	Head of Policy and Communications
Community Safety	None identified at this time	Head of Policy and Communications
Human Rights Act	None identified at this time	Head of Policy and Communications
Procurement	The procurement rules will be followed in the process of selecting organisations to deliver the necessary training.	Head of Policy and Communications
Asset Management	None identified at this time	Head of Policy and Communications

7. REPORT APPENDICES

�� None

8. BACKGROUND PAPERS

None