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Agenda item

COUNCILLOR LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROTOCOL

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR – GOVERNANCE

 

To consider the endorsement of the updated Councillor Learning and Development Protocol and the reporting process for completion of compulsory training.

 

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

(1)         That the Councillor Learning and Development Protocol, attached as Appendix A, be noted and endorsed with the following amendments:

 

Remove – ‘The report will detail the completion rate of required, compulsory training by Councillors and will detail those individuals who have not completed the specified training by the required date.’

 

Add – ‘The report presented to Overview and Scrutiny will be a high-level, annual report which will detail the completion rate of required, compulsory training. The Standards Committee will consider individual accountability, particularly in circumstances where Councillors repeatedly fail to attend mandatory training as this is likely to fall below the threshold of expected behaviours of Councillors.’

 

(2)         That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee scheduled an ‘Annual Report on Councillor Training’ onto their Work Programme for future years.

 

REASON FOR DECISIONS: To ensure that the Councillor Learning and Development Protocol is current, relevant and includes clear reporting on the completion rate of compulsory Member Training with accountability.

Minutes:

Audio recording – 55 minutes 25 seconds

 

Councillor Daniel Allen, as Executive Member for Governance, presented the report entitled ‘Councillor Learning and Development Protocol’ and advised that:

 

·                The report would ensure the formalisation of Councillor learning and development arrangements, with a clear reporting and monitoring process in place.

·                It was proposed to provide an annual report on compulsory training to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which would detail the names of Members who had not completed the required training.

·                It was important for Members to complete the compulsory training so that they understood processes and managed risk as there were legal requirements to complete it.

·                Two sessions would be held in May for Members to complete their compulsory training, and they were required to attend at least one.

·                Members could also complete their compulsory learning ahead of the sessions, but there would be a benefit to attending the sessions as Officers would be able to provide clarifications and support.

·                The protocol had been introduced in 2019 and revised to include the processes to be followed when providing compulsory and non-compulsory training for Members.

·                Dates for the Member sessions were in the report and had also been shared with Members via email.

 

N.B. Councillor Ralph Muncer returned to the Chamber at 20:30.

 

The following Members asked questions:

 

·                Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham

·                Councillor Jon Clayden

·                Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

·                Councillor Ralph Muncer

·                Councillor Paul Ward

 

In response to questions, Councillor Daniel Allen advised that:

 

·                Non-completion of mandatory training created issues with corporate governance and risk rather than with behaviour or conduct. Because of this, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were best placed to monitor this in their role to hold the authority to account on performance and risk management, rather than the Standards Committee.

·                The report would not result in sanctions and would enable transparency and encourage improvement where needed, rather than being presented to the Standards Committee which could result in a quasi-disciplinary process.

·                The proposal of naming Members had resulted from other encouragement measures for training being unsuccessful in achieving a 100% completion rate.

·                It was understood that Members may have undertaken similar training in their professions or voluntary roles, but this did not negate the requirement to complete the mandatory training provided by the Council.

 

In response to questions, the Director – Governance advised that:

 

·                It was within the Terms of Reference of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to govern the completion of mandatory training as failure to do so damaged the ability of the Council to operate safely, lawfully and legally. Whereas the Standards Committee governed the completion of Code of Conduct training.

·                Completion of mandatory training was low, and there had to be accountability for this.

·                Failure to complete compulsory training could also be reported to the Standards Committee as it was potentially a breach under Section 17 of the Code of Conduct.

·                Paragraph 6.2.7(s) of the Constitution referenced the reasons for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee receiving the annual report instead of the Standards Committee, in terms of corporate risk.

 

In response to questions, Councillor Val Bryant, as Leader of the Council, advised that publishing a list of councillors who had not completed their training should encourage self-reflection and completion of the training.

 

In response to questions, the Democratic Services Manager advised that:

 

·                They did not have details of the learning and development protocols of other authorities or whether any published names of councillors that had not completed their training. However, this was not relevant, and the protocol was a North Herts specific document, which should be considered on its own merits.

·                It was noted that Group Leaders had endorsed the protocol.

 

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis highlighted that naming Members for not completing mandatory training would be inappropriate, unreasonable and an unnecessary measure as many Members undertook similar mandatory training in other roles they held, which meant that they were potentially overtrained.

 

Councillor Martin Prescott advised that Members should complete their training if they did not want to be named in the annual report.

 

Councillor Ralph Muncer advised that:

 

·                Hertfordshire County Council did not mandate the completion of training, and this Council should also adopt the same approach.

·                Members within his party were encouraged to complete the mandatory training, but a lot of them were exposed to the same training through their professions, and there should be a mechanism for them to be able to demonstrate this.

 

Councillor Paul Ward advised that:

 

·                This protocol related to the personal conduct of councillors, and they should use the Code of Conduct and the Standards Committee to enforce this.

·                The Code of Conduct could be amended within the Constitution to enforce this further.

·                If the protocol was implemented, there would be a danger of creating a naming and shaming culture, which would further degrade the Code of Conduct process.

 

Councillor David Chalmers advised that he felt uncomfortable with this protocol and did not agree with publicly naming and shaming councillors, and undertaking this practice would represent a failure of the Council.

 

Councillor Ruth Brown advised that she would be withdrawing her endorsement for the protocol.

 

Councillor Claire Winchester advised that:

 

·                There were new developments in the learning and development protocol such as in-person meetings with officer support.

·                It was important to discuss the significance of Member training.

·                Monitoring individual behaviour on training might be more relevant to the Standards Committee.

·                If the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were to consider an annual report, training completion might need to be anonymised to see if the measures introduced had improved completion rates.

 

In response to additional points made by Councillor Elizabeth Dennis, the Democratic Services Manager advised that:

 

·                The training provided by the Council included information on their reporting mechanisms, which was why they delivered their own training to Members.

·                It was not unusual to undertake similar training for different roles as one training course might not be recognised by another organisation.

·                The aim of the protocol was not to discipline Members, but to encourage them to complete their training, and any suggestions on how to encourage Members to do this were welcomed as the numerous attempts by Officers had not proved successful.

 

Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham advised that:

 

·                Failure to complete training could result in the creation of corporate and safeguarding risk.

·                Without accountability for Members who had not completed their training, the protocol would be similar to the current version without the proposed revisions.

·                Non-compliance by individual councillors would feel more appropriate being dealt with by the Standards Committee, with a bigger picture report being presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

Councillor Martin Prescott proposed and Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham seconded the amended recommendations, as follows:

 

(1)       That the Councillor Learning and Development Protocol, attached as Appendix A, be noted and endorsed with the following amendments:

 

Remove – ‘The report will detail the completion rate of required, compulsory training by Councillors and will detail those individuals who have not completed the specified training by the required date.’

 

Add – ‘The report presented to Overview and Scrutiny will be a high-level, annual report which will detail the completion rate of required, compulsory training. The Standards Committee will consider individual accountability, particularly in circumstances where Councillors repeatedly fail to attend mandatory training as this is likely to fall below the threshold of expected behaviours of Councillors.’

                                                                                           

(2)       That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee scheduled an ‘Annual Report on Councillor Training’ onto their Work Programme for future years.

 

The following Members took part in the debate:

 

·                Councillor Martin Prescott

·                Councillor Jon Clayden

·                Councillor Paul Ward

·                Councillor Ralph Muncer

·                Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham

·                Councillor David Chalmers

·                Councillor Dominic Griffiths

 

The following points were made as part of the debate:

 

·                It should be publicly reported whether Members had completed their training as the public were entitled to know.

·                There had not been sufficient consultation on the protocol and the Chairs of the Overview and Scrutiny and Standards Committees should have been consulted.

·                Adding the protocol to the Work Programme would not be of benefit to the Committee as it did not add value.

·                Many elements of the protocol were good such as the in-person Member training sessions.

·                The Code of Conduct and Constitution should be strengthened to ensure that sanctions could be imposed by the Standards Committee on councillors that had not completed their mandatory training.

·                Decisions taken in Community Forums and Committees were not made unsafe if Members had not completed their mandatory training.

·                Training records could be included on the webpages for councillors.

·                Risk should be placed on the councillor themselves rather than the authority if they had not completed their training, but it was acknowledged that this risk could never be fully removed.

·                The Standards Committee and the Code of Conduct process had been used on multiple occasions to address complaints, and this protocol threatened the integrity of this process.

·                Mutual recognition for training completed outside of the authority should be investigated to avoid repetition of training by Members.

·                The protocol should be withdrawn and amended before being presented at a future Overview and Scrutiny or Standards Committee meeting.

·                It was appreciated that a process was needed to improve training completion rates, but naming Members was not the right method for this.

 

In response to points raised in the debate, Councillor Val Bryant advised that Political Group Leaders had been consulted on the Learning and Development Protocol 3 weeks ago.

 

In response to a point raised by Councillor Daniel Allen, Councillor Ralph Muncer advised that implied consent had been given by officers on the protocol on behalf of him and Councillor Ruth Brown.

 

In response to an additional question from Councillor Dominic Griffiths, the Democratic Services Manager confirmed that the Member sessions on mandatory training would take place irrespective of the decision on the protocol.

 

Having been proposed and seconded, subject to the amendment, the motion was put to a vote, following which the vote was tied.

 

The Chair used their casting vote and, it was:

 

RESOLVED:

 

(1)       That the Councillor Learning and Development Protocol, attached as Appendix A, be noted and endorsed with the following amendments:

 

Remove – ‘The report will detail the completion rate of required, compulsory training by Councillors and will detail those individuals who have not completed the specified training by the required date.’

 

Add – ‘The report presented to Overview and Scrutiny will be a high-level, annual report which will detail the completion rate of required, compulsory training. The Standards Committee will consider individual accountability, particularly in circumstances where Councillors repeatedly fail to attend mandatory training as this is likely to fall below the threshold of expected behaviours of Councillors.’

 

(2)       That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee scheduled an ‘Annual Report on Councillor Training’ onto their Work Programme for future years.

 

REASON FOR DECISIONS: To ensure that the Councillor Learning and Development Protocol is current, relevant and includes clear reporting on the completion rate of compulsory Member Training with accountability.

 

N.B. Following the conclusion of the item, there was a break in proceedings and the meeting reconvened at 21.36. During the break, Councillors Dominic Griffiths and Martin Prescott left the Chamber and did not return.

Supporting documents: