Agenda item

Assembly noted this report introduced by the Chief Executive, Graham Farrant.

At the invitation of the Chair, Councillor Reason reported to Assembly that the London Charter for Elected Member Development had first been awarded to the Council in 2009.  She went on to say that an external team had re-assessed the Council in July 2012 and one of the members of that team, Councillor Catherine West, Leader of Islington Council, was in the Chamber to present the Charter Certificate.

Councillor Reason thanked the Members and officers who had been interviewed during the assessment and those officers who had maintained the Member handbooks, development programmes, reports and Member learning strategy, all of which had been rigorously examined by the Assessors.

Councillor Reason went on to say that:

·  the Council is committed to Member Development,

·  we had been the first council in London to be awarded the Charter and were the first to be re-assessed,

·  training and briefings were provided to Members on a vast range of subjects to equip them to be effective councillors,

·  Members were supported to meet subject experts and colleagues from other authorities,

·  the 32 new Members elected to the Council in May 2010 were testament to the value of the Member Development Programme as by putting their training into practice they have become effective community leaders and great contributors to the Council,

·  Members lead Member Development in identifying the required training and how it is delivered,

·  the training is evaluated to ensure continuous improvement.

Councillor Reason further thanked the Member Development Group – Councillors N Gill, Keller, Rai, Letchford, Ogungbose, IS Jamu and Carpetner – for their hard work and input.

Through the Chair, Councillor Reason welcomed Councillor Catherine West to formally present the Charter Certificate.

Councillor West stated that she was pleased and privileged to have been invited to present Barking and Dagenham with the Certificate in recognition of having been re-awarded the Charter for Member Development.  She and her co-assessors had spent the 25 July at the council and had enjoyed meeting Members and officers. She particularly noted the strength of the Democratic Services team.

She went on to say that in a period of time where Councillor Development has never been so important it was enlightening to see that Barking and Dagenham Council had become the first council in London to be successfully re-accredited against the Charter standard.  Across England 206 (62%) councils had made the commitment, or achieved the Charter, and Barking and Dagenham Council continued to be part of this growing number. 

Councillor West said that the Charter recognised the investment and value that the Council places in member development.  The authority recognised that development of all Councillors was critical to the successful achievement and delivery of strategic priorities on behalf of the people represented and served in the community.  The development and support that Barking and Dagenham Council provided for all Councillors would become even more important in order to respond to the challenges and opportunities of the Localism Agenda.

She went on to say that the role of the Councillor was right at the heart of that agenda and required us all to work differently and with new skills as we engage, empower, and lead our local communities.  It had therefore never been more important to ensure that all Councillors were provided with the skills and support to carry out that evolving role.

Councillor West felt it important to mention that Barking and Dagenham Council had been fully supported on their journey to reassessment against the award by both London Councils and South East Employers.

She said that all members and many officers had been instrumental in the success in achieving the standard and particularly acknowledged the commitment and contribution from:

-  Cllr Rocky Gill for the leadership commitment to member development

-  Cllr Linda Reason in her capacity as Chair of the Member Development Group for championing member development and ensuring a member led approach and;

-  Fiona Jamieson (Member Development Officer) for enthusiastically supporting members to achieve the award.

She said that the Assessment Team had seen many examples of excellent practice in respect of how member development was supporting community leadership, collaborative working and supporting the key priorities of the council. This ‘best’ practice included:

-  Pre-Assembly briefings that informed and ensured all councillors were aware of local and national initiatives and policy that impacted on the council and the community

-  Members taking a lead in their own development through the completion of Personal Development Plans

-  The Member Development Group evaluating the impact of member development to ensure VFM and relevance to members; and

-  Promoting the role of the councillor through the hosting of a pre-election event to support candidates and potential councillors.

Councillor West advised the Assembly that London Councils and South East Employers looked forward to Barking and Dagenham Council continuing its commitment to member development and sharing its success with other Boroughs and congratulated the Council on the successful achievement of the Charter standard.

In accepting the Charter Certificate on behalf of the Council, Councillor Reason thanked Councillor West for attending and for her kind words.