Agenda and minutes

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Members:-

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Panel;

(b)               all other Members present.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no declarations of interests made by Members.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 September 2012 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 September 2012, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents or organisations under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 51 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

RESOLVED: To note that no public questions were put, or petitions or deputations received.

The Panel received a report of the Divisional Director Human Resources and Development and Shared Services, which provided an update on the Member Development Programme of Events that had taken place since the last meeting of the Panel. 

The Divisional Director made the following points about Members’ attendance and feedback regarding recent Member Development training events:

·                     attendance at IT training had been low at the first two sessions but had subsequently increased;

·                     on the whole attendees were satisfied with the IT training but felt handouts should have been given and this request should be forwarded to the trainer;

·                     there had been a change of trainer mid way through the training and the new trainer had not been fully briefed regarding the results of the Members’ Training Needs Analysis (TNAs), and consequently had not covered the areas requested by Members in their TNAs.

Members made the following comments and requests:

·                     the possibility of 2-3 full additional days of IT training be looked into by officers.  Publicity about this training should specify exactly which IT packages would be covered and the level the training would be pitched at;

·                     training should be provided to Members about internet security, the use of firewalls and data protection issues;

·                     the recent scrutiny training regarding performance information had been very helpful but poorly attended, which may have been due to the short notice given;

·                     the 7.00 pm start time of training sessions may make it difficult for some Members to attend training;

·                     Members should be encouraged to complete all Mandatory training sessions within the first year of being elected with the proviso that they would not be able to sit on relevant committees until they had completed the requisite Mandatory training;

·                     Personal Development Plans for Members should be reintroduced at the Member induction stage and the possibility of providing Members with a certificate of completion and formal accreditation of Members learning should be explored further;

·                     Equalities and Diversity training should have the widest possible context and encompass more employment law;

·                     the December 2012 Member Development training session should be postponed as it was too close to the Christmas break period and it was unlikely that many Members would be free to attend.

The Divisional Director stated that:

·                     additional training in data protection and data security would be offered to officers in the near future and it would be practical to offer this training to Members also;

·                     the Harrow Equalities Centre and external trainers would be contacted regarding provision of further Equalities and Diversity training;

·                     the Adult Social Care section had been requested to encompass mental health awareness issues in their Member training sessions.

The Divisional Director outlined the proposal from the Office for Public Management (OPM) for a joint programme of officer and Member training.  following questions and comments from the Panel, the Divisional Director stated that the OPM programme would:

·                     address a number of strategic issues facing the council, such as community budgets and would include working with and learning from partner organisations;

·                     it would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

5 February 2013.

5 February 2013.