Agenda and minutes

To agree the previously circulated minutes of the meeting held on 15^th February 2022 as a correct record.

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 15^th February 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

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

There were no items requiring urgent attention.

To appraise Members of the learning and development activity that has taken place since the last Steering Group meeting and of learning and development opportunities available going forward.

The Head of Scrutiny appraised Members of the training and development opportunities since the last meeting and the future training and development opportunities. All masterclasses and training are recorded and uploaded to SharePoint for Members to access.

For Scrutiny masterclasses, these are now planned and listed on the calendar of meetings rather than the previous ad-hoc planning of dates, although some masterclasses will be held as and when they are needed. The attendances for the Scrutiny masterclasses has been good and above the attendance rates seen when these were in person meetings.

The 2021/22 Scrutiny Annual Report shows the large offer of training, both skills specific and topic specific, during the first year of this Council term. 

The recordings of meetings on SharePoint and viewing figures is difficult to gage. The Member Wellbeing Survey discussed in the previous meeting asked Members about their use of SharePoint and we can we ask again in the next Member Wellbeing Survey. Officers can see how many views each recording has, but this does not give any indication on how many Members had viewed a recording or how much of the recording they viewed.

Members discussed the importance of keeping training to an hour to ensure it short, to the point and accessible for all Members. In general, one topic, one hour.

Member Development Officer to appraise Members on the personal development interviews that have been held and to discuss the common themes that Members have raised.

The Member Development Officer appraised Members on the personal development interviews he has held with Members. The Member Development Officer reported they had gone very well and so far, around 15 Members had taken up the offer.

The common themes of these interviews were:

-       Members’ issues with IT and the Itrent system

-       Members still being unsure on which officers to contact on certain issues

-       The confidence of newer Members in meetings to feel they can contribute to meetings in an effective way.

-       A need for future training sessions on chairing, questioning and communication skills

Councillors discussed their challenges in terms of IT, different systems being used and being new Members. Officers suggested the ways Members could get some IT help and what support services were available to Members. The Member Development Officer, Members Services Officers and the wider Democratic Services and Scrutiny Secretariat can act as a point of contact for Members to answer their questions or signpost them in the right direction.

For a future meeting, Officers will bring an FAQ document on IT to Members.

The Chair re-iterated that Members shouldn’t be afraid to ask and can ask the relevant Cabinet Member for advice if Members need to contact a particular officer for a query. 

Members discussed ensuring that all Members should be given training and development opportunities to upskill all Members and Members should take them up if they are offered and the need boost the informal networking opportunities for Members to build relationships.

To receive feedback on the Member Briefing / Network Event.

The Chair commented that the Member Briefing / Network Event held on the 23^rd March 2022 went very well and was delivered well. There was a slight disappointment in the attendance, which was below the normal attendance for events which shows the need to ensure there good advertisement of these events to Members.

Officers highlighted that the event was the first one that has been delivered and future sessions need to consider the topics that are relevant so that there is relevant learning for Members to take away.

The next Member Briefing / Network event on June 13^th 2022 and the dates of these will be built into the future calendar of meetings to ensure they are widely publicised to Members. 

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

29^th September 2022

1^st March 2023

Members noted the dates of future meetings:

29 September 2022 @ 10.30am

1 March 2023 @ 10.30am