Member Development Officer Network Meeting
12th October 2012
Present: Sheena Jones (Bromsgrove and Redditch Councils), Helen Abraham, Amanda Farmer (Coventry CC), Kelly Collett, Sarah Treener (Dudley MBC), Welna Bowden (LGA), Lisa Perks (Malvern Hills DC), Julie Fildes (Shropshire Council), Julie Roberts (Staffordshire County Council), Darren Whitney (Stratford-on-Avon DC), Tracy Dolphin (Warwick DC), Paul Williams (Warwickshire CC), Tim Jones (Wolverhampton City Council), Maggie Collins (Worcestershire CC), Kim Stallard (Wychavon DC)
Present WMC: Shane O’Callaghan and Carrie Rowberry
Chair’s opening remarks
The Chair for the meeting was Kim Stallard. As this was a first meeting for many there were introductions made around the table.
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from: Charlotte Taylor (East Staffordshire BC), Andrew Bailey (Stafford BC), Zoe Blake (Tamworth BC)
2. Notes of the last meeting were agreed as a true record.
There was a query made as to why there was no longer a Joint Officer and Member meeting. The Member Development Steering group ceased to exist in 2010. An email was sent to all democratic services officers on 10th September. Email attached
3. Feedback from National Member Development Network
Sheena gave a brief update on what had happened at the National Member Development Network meeting in September. All regions were present. Attached is a copy of the notes.
4. LGA Update on workbooks and recent publications – Welna Bowden
Welna stated that the Community Safety workbook was nearly finished. There are 19 updated Councillor workbooks which are:
1. Effective Ward Councillor
2. Stress Management
3. Neighbourhood and Community Engagement
4. Handling case work
5. Working with Parish Councils
6. Civic Mayors
7. Media and Communications
8. Chairing Skills
9. Business Planning
10. Scrutiny of Finance
11. Effective Member and Officer Relations
12. Community Leadership
13. Influencing Skills
14. Creating a ‘fit’ for the future’ Organisation: The Political Dimension
15. Performance Management
16. Supporting Constituents with Complex Problems
17. Facilitation and Conflict Resolution
18. Engaging with Young People
19. Health and Safety in the Council
Welna spoke the group about the Knowledge Hub on the LGA website and how useful it is. It has
· Discussion forums – share ideas, case studies or ask for opinions
· Blogs – reflect on what you’ve been doing and what you have learnt
· The Library is under the Group hub section – share reports, research, presentations, videos and images
· Event promotion – find out about forthcoming events and promote your own events, training sessions and workshops
· Connections – connect with other Knowledge Hub users and share ideas
· Social media links – link your Knowledge Hub profile to other social networking accounts for example Twitter
Link to the Hub - https://knowledgehub.local.gov.uk/
Below is a picture of what the Hub looks like once registered and logged in
There are lots of Leadership Academy upcoming events planned.
· Children’s Services – One lead member place is offered to each local authority free of charge. Accommodation, meals, course materials and delegate fees are funded. Location and Dates:
Programme 2, Warwick Conference Centre, Coventry
Saturday 24th November – Sunday 25th November 2012
Programme 3, Warwick Conference Centre, Coventry
Wednesday 5th – Thursday 6th December 2012
Programme 4, Warwick Conference Centre, Coventry
Saturday 2nd – Sunday 3rd February 2013
Contact – Grace Collins
Tel: 0207 664 3054 or email
· Sports Programme – There is no fee for the 2 day event which covers accommodation for the 10th and 11th November. Places are limited to one member per authority. Location and Dates
Burleigh Court, Loughborough
Saturday 10th – Sunday 11th November 2012
Contact – Grace Collins
Tel: 0207 664 3054 or email
· Leading Delivery of Growth, The £500 cost is fully subsidised by funding from LGA’s Planning Advisory Service. This covers accommodation, meals, course materials and tuition. Location and Dates
Programme 1, Warwick Conference Centre, Coventry
Tuesday 30th – Wednesday 31st October 2012
Programme 2, Palace Hotel, Manchester
Tuesday 11th – Wednesday 12th December 2012
Programme 3, Warwick Conference Centre, Coventry
Tuesday 12th – 13th February 2013
Programme 4, Warwick Conference Centre, Coventry
Saturday 23rd – 24th March 2013
Contact – Grace Collins
Tel: 0207 664 3054 or email
· Positive Planning – Decision Making, The £500 cost is fully subsidised by funding from LGA’s Planning Advisory Service. This covers accommodation, meals, course materials and tuition. Location and Dates
Programme 1, Warwick Conference Centre, Coventry
Thursday 15th – Friday 16th November 2012
Programme 2, Palace Hotel, Manchester
Thursday 29th – Friday 30th November 2012
Programme 3, Warwick Conference Centre, Coventry
Saturday 26th – Sunday 27th January 2013
Contact – Grace Collins
Tel: 0207 664 3054 or email
· Regional Community Budget Event, Free event
4th October 2012, Coin Street Community Builders, London
· Leadership for Improvement 24hr workshop for Leaders and Chief Executives of District Councils. This training programme is fully subsidised at a cost of £500 per person. Warwick Conference Centre, Coventry
Workshop 1, Tuesday 15th – Wednesday 16th January 2013
Workshop 2, Tuesday 19th – Wednesday 20th March 2013
Contact - Evelyn Mark
Tel: 0207 7664 3045 or email
5. Group Work
Feedback on how the workbooks are used, how useful they are. East of England are turning 20 booklets into training packages. Contact would be Martin Stein. Part of phase 2 there will be 15 more booklets. Can the group please prioritise 5 for Welna. Action for Helen Abraham to create a survey on survey monkey and email link to all Member Development Officers.
6. Feedback from the recent LGA pilot on Social Media the ‘Connected Councillor’
The training was for Councillors on how to use Twitter, Facebook and blogs. There were 8 members for the 5th July session. It was a beginner’s session and most were over 50 years of age. We received really good feedback. Louise from Liverpool City conducted the training and asked all Councillors to bring smartphones, iPads for a hands on approach. Showed councillors facebook page, twitter and how to blog. Contact Welna if interested.
7. West Midlands Charter
9 local authorities have responded with comments for the new Charter. Sandwell and Dudley and Wychavon are interested in the Charter. There members support it and think it’s a positive thing.
The assessments will be co-ordinated by the Lead Officer
WMC will deliver the peer assessor training for officers and members. It will be 1 session on 1 day. It will be held at The Partnership Centre on 23rd November 2012.
8. Current Issues
Current issues were discussed within the group. Paul Williams (Warwickshire CC) Modern Councillor requested opinions on Modern Councillor which Warks is looking at for member induction next May. Malvern DC bought Modern Councillor for their members in 2011 no one has used it. Coventry City Council have the material out of date. In addition Coventry had difficulty in contacting staff that had the appropriate knowledge of MC to answers queries quickly.. There are also hidden costs linked to producing reports and editing content as a learning management system is required. MC can supply this but at an extra cost of £1500. Coventry also experienced serious spamming on the member forum with no relevant content and requests. Coventry have been working on producing their own suite of e-learning courses. The Councillor guide on the LGA website is useful for induction.
Maggie Collins (Worcestershire CC) Member Support
Members are disinterested in one to ones. I have been tasked with conducting a review of member support and the leader is keen to set expectations for the County Councillor. 62% of our councillors are dual hatters. We need to look at the expectations, behaviour and protocol of member inductions for next year. We are potentially going to have some new members and a new way of working. How to support the Community Leadership role and to stop issues coming back into county hall. After some best practice ideas and if you could share any information with Maggie please contact her at
9. News Exchange
Discussion was held on which suppliers other authorities have used for Scrutiny Skills Training – Julia Wright, Summerfield Sanders, Nelson Training. Coventry City Council and Coventry University have an accredited qualification for members which others could tap into.
9. Date and time of next meeting
6th March 2013.
Meeting closed at 12:30
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