Agenda and minutes

To agree the previously circulated minutes of the meeting held on 10 May 2018 as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 10 May 2018 be signed as a correct record. 

The Chair welcomed Mrs Saltmarsh who was attending the meeting in her capacity as a Co-opted Member of the Council's Standards Committee to observe and monitor compliance with the Council’s ethical governance framework.

Items which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered at the meeting as  matters of urgency.

There was no matter raised as a matter of urgency.

Sarah Elliott, ICT Commissioning, to provide an update on the organisational approach to the Office 360 roll out and options for including Members in this work.

The ICT Adoption and Change Manager reported on the roll out of Microsoft Office 365 across the County Council, which included both modernising and upgrading desktops and supporting teams to use new cloud-based tools such as One Drive, One Note, Planner, Forms, Teams and Power BI.  Champions in each service area were being recruited to cascade learning to staff.

Microsoft Office 365 was due to be rolled out to Members in the New Year and it was agreed that this be co-ordinated with the roll out to the Democratic Services and Scrutiny Team.

Members welcomed this new way of working and discussed the benefits of piloting these new tools before rolling out to all Members. 

It was RESOLVED that the ICT Adoption and Change Manager, the Member Development Officer and the Head of Scrutiny explore options for using Microsoft Teams and other tools to support Scrutiny Committees activity and run this as a pilot.

A review of the information which has been provided to Members in respect of the new GDPR and consideration of additional learning needs.

The Information Governance Manager reported on changes implemented following the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in May 2018 and the advice and guidance provided to Members on their responsibilities.

There was a current requirement for all staff and Members to complete the Data Protection 2018 e-learning module.  Some Members reported that the e-learning was not very user friendly and the Member Development Officer advised that technical support with this issue was available through her team.

It was RESOLVED

(a) that the Information Governance Manager provide Members with further guidance on email privacy notices;

(b) that the Member Development Officer and Democratic Services and Scrutiny Team look at options to promote and support Members to complete the Data Protection e-learning module.

Head of Scrutiny to provide a brief update on the new provision for Members to attend approved external courses.

The Head of Scrutiny reported that the new Member Development framework, as agreed at the Council’s Procedures Committee in July 2018 (minute *33) was now in operation.

Member Development Officer to provide an update on the Shared Service.

The Member Development Officer reported on the Shared Service, which provided Member development and training through a joint arrangement with other South West local authorities.

Somerset County Council had decided to withdraw from the Shared Service arrangement, but both East Devon and Teignbridge District Councils had expressed interest in joining.

The Member Development Officer undertook to approach North Devon and Torridge District Councils and Plymouth City Council to promote the benefits of the Shared Service partnership.

Member Development Officer to report on dates for next round of PDP’s and an update on take up.

The Member Development Officer reported that 7 Members had completed Personal Development interviews since the last meeting, and that 4 more had been scheduled.

(a) Head of Scrutiny to update on programme of Scrutiny Masterclass sessions;

(b) Head of Scrutiny to update on programme of briefings before full Council;

(c) Member Development Officer to update on training for Devon County Councillors;

(d) Member Development Officer to update on training offered through the Shared Service.

Member Development schedule attached.

The Head of Scrutiny reported an increase in attendance at Scrutiny Masterclasses.  Members attributed this to the high quality of topics and learning opportunities offered through this mechanism, and the use of Outlook calendar invites to alert Members to the Masterclass topic as early as possible.

Members highlighted the value of Scrutiny Masterclasses in supporting Scrutiny activity, as well as the advice and guidance provided by Scrutiny Special Advisors.

The Member Development Officer advised that the IT ‘drop in’ session for Members on the morning of December full Council would focus on IT security, and would be the last of these sessions due to a decrease in demand and attendance.

The Member Development Officer also advised that Sexual Harassment training would shortly be rolled out to all Members. Three sessions would be held at various locations across the County, starting in November and concluding in the New Year.

As shown in the calendar of meetings at http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1

Members noted the dates of future meetings, as shown in the calendar of meetings at http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1