Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2015.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2015 were approved as a correct record.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made.

To hear presentations from representatives of other authorities, including Kirklees Council about their ‘Cities of Service’ model.

Officer Contact: Craig Ainsworth on 0161 474 3204 or email: craig.ainsworth@stockport.gov.uk

Carl Whistlecraft (Head of Governance and Democratic Services, Kirklees Council) attended the meeting to discuss the evolving role of members at Kirklees Council.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         In face of budget reductions, Kirklees Council set up a cross party member commission to discuss the changing role of members;

·         Members acknowledged there would be less officer support and issues could no longer be dealt with in the same way;

·         Kirklees were working with the Local Government Association to decide the best way to equip members to manage these changes;

·         It was acknowledged that Kirklees were still on a ‘journey’ and did not have the answer on how best to equip members to deal with change;

·         The role of members had been defined in a ‘role profile’;

·         The implementation of a role profile required a cultural change and would take a long time;

·         The ‘Cities of Service’ project involved working closely with the voluntary sector to build capacity to enable change in the Council;

·         ‘Pulse surveys’ were used as a benchmark to evaluate the changing role of Councillors;

·         Kirklees Council had area based governance for the previous 15 years and previous models had elements of public decision making with resources to support it;

·         There was a dedicated officer for member development however following budget reductions other methods of member development were necessary;

·         Sharing ideas across authorities and utilising the ‘on-the-job’ learning potential for members was essential;

·         It was important that any potential candidates were fully briefed on the role of Councillors before they were nominated for election;

·         Any local plans at Kirklees were influenced by the strategic priorities of the Council;

·         The overall aims of Kirklees’ District Committees differed in each district;

·         Community development and neighbourhood management functions were retracting and Councillors were expected to fulfil this role;

·         Services in Kirklees were localised but had been centralised in order to reduce budgets;

·         As services reduced the relationship between officers and Councillors was increasingly important to deal with public expectation;

·         Planning and Safeguarding training was compulsory at Kirklees Council, and they had previously used a ‘fining system’ for non-attendance at member training;

·         Training offered to employees of Stockport Council should be made available for members;

·         The political groups in Stockport had a responsibility to encourage members to attend training sessions;

·         The current member induction programme at Stockport was already at a good standard.

RESOLVED – That Carl Whistlecraft be thanked for his attendance.

To discuss the evolving role of members in relation to the Investing in Stockport Programme to ensure that Councillors have the appropriate support to fulfil their changing roles.

The Scrutiny Review Panel - Member Development & Support will be looking in particular at:

·         Are Councillors provided with the opportunities to develop the skills needed to fully embrace the approach?  

·         Are Councillors are provided with key information to support role (e.g. ward profiles) and to allow citizen self-service?

·         Are the existing mechanisms for engagement between citizens and key council partners fit for purpose under the new arrangements?

·         Do Councillors have appropriate access to officer advice and the future role of ‘Relationship Managers’

·         Do Councillors have the “tools to do the job” on a locality basis e.g. ICT

·         Is there a community engagement lead role for Councillors to enable communities to have greater influence over how services are delivered?

·         How do we make best use of area committees within the Locality working approach?

·         The effectiveness of the current Scrutiny arrangements including the impact of GM Devolution.

·         Councillors membership of external bodies/ boards/ groups sand the legal responsibilities placed on them

·         How Councillors can be supported in relation to the Management of Information.

Officer Contact: Craig Ainsworth on 0161 474 3204 or email: craig.ainsworth@stockport.gov.uk

RESOLVED – (1) That Stephanie Snape (North West Employers) be requested to submit a report to next meeting outlining the key issues that have arisen during the course of the review and outlining possible options for members to consider as part of their final recommendations.

(2) That representatives of Birmingham University attend a future meeting of the Scrutiny Review Panel in relation to the 21^st Century Councillor Research.

To agree any items to be included on the agenda for the next meeting.

RESOLVED – (1) That the Monitoring Officer be requested to attend the next meeting of the Scrutiny Review Panel to discuss the Councillors membership of external bodies/ boards/ groups & the legal responsibilities placed on them, and how Councillors can be supported in relation to the Management of Information.

(2) That the Democratic Services Manager be requested to make arrangements for another authority to send a representative to the next meeting of the Scrutiny Review Panel to discuss the evolving role of members.

2 December 2015

20 January 2016

RESOLVED – That the next meeting of the Scrutiny Review Panel be held on 2 December 2015.