Agenda and minutes

The Head of Committee and Governance Services to report any changes to the membership.

There were no changes to the membership.

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any personal or prejudicial interests in matters on this agenda.

None.

To sign the minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2015.

3.1     RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2015 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Head of Cabinet and Member Secretariat.

4.1     Doug Precey, Head of Cabinet and Members Secretariat, introduced the report.  He advised the feedback from both Members and Officers had been good.  He highlighted those areas which would form part of a Work Programme which had been raised at the seminar.

4.2     Members raised issues which should be addressed either as part of a Member Development Programme or separately if outside the scope of such a programme.  The Member Development Programme to include the following:

          Refresher training for Members who sit on quasi-judicial bodies;

          IT access for Members;

          Awareness sessions on topics and policy areas of interest to Members to be held around edges of other meetings to include workshops on various Council issues.

4.3     The Committee also asked that the following be addressed:

·       Improve quality of formal reports, including use of plain English;

·       Revise template for reports to Policy and Scrutiny Committees;

·       Provision of a Council directory setting out contact details for key officers/services most likely to be required by Members;

·       Email protocol.

          RESOLVED: That the actions set out in 4.2 and 4.3 above be endorsed.

To receive any other business which the Chairman considers urgent.

5.       (a)      The Committee noted that Sir Stephen Lamport had been appointed as an Independent Person and would be invited to the next meeting.  It was also noted that Geoffrey Rivlin would be standing down as an Independent Person at the end of the year and therefore at least one other Independent Person would need to be appointed.

          (b)      The Committee placed on record its thanks to Peter Large for his services to the Committee.