Agenda and minutes

Minutes of meeting held on 10^th August, 2006 (previously published).

The Minutes of the meeting held on 10^th August 2006 were signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

 Report of Head of Democratic Services.

The Head of Democratic Services presented a report which requested that Members consider awarding the Freedom of the City of Lancaster to Mr John McGuinness, together with the arrangements for an appropriate ceremony.

Members discussed ways of ensuring that members of the public had access to the event. In particular it was hoped that some tickets could be set-aside for youngsters, to get them more involved in the Council.

The recommendations set out in the report were unanimously agreed.

Resolved:

(1)               That in pursuance of Section 249 of the Local Government Act 197, this Council confers the Freedom of the City of Lancaster on Mr John McGuinness at a Special Meeting of the City Council to be held in February 2007.

(2)               That the Head of Democratic Services be authorised to make the necessary arrangements for the meeting and a celebratory reception in consultation with the Right Worshipful the Mayor of Lancaster.

Report of Head of Democratic Services. 

The Senior Democratic Support Officer presented a report that updated Members on the progress made to date, with elected Member development and suggestions for the way forward.

Members considered the report in detail and offered feedback on the progress being made and the training that had taken place. They felt that it would be useful to have information on which Councillors were attending training events and to receive feedback and evaluations from training, seminars and conferences to show if they were of good value and worthwhile attending.

The report outlined the Members area on the intranet, to enable Members to suggest further items that they would like to appear on the pages. It was noted that there was now a library of resources available that Councillors could borrow if they could not attend training events.

The Head of Democratic Services reported that an initial meeting had been held with North West Employers Organisation to discuss the Councils progress towards achieving the Member Development Charter.

It had been made clear that this would require evidence of substantial Member input in Member development which could be provided by utilising this Committee as a forum to lead on Member development. It was noted that the Members of the Committee needed to take responsibility for liasing with and encouraging all Members of their Group in this respect.

In particular there was a need for Members to take part in the development of a strategy and it was felt that this could best be achieved by discussing ideas at an informal meeting. A similar process could be utilised to prepare an Induction Programme for new Members.

Members unanimously agreed the recommendations set out in the report and the arrangements for an informal meeting. 

Resolved:

(1)               That the Committee notes the progress made to date with elected Member development.

(2)               That an informal meeting of the Council Business Committee be held at Morecambe Town Hall on 29^th November 2006 commencing at 5pm to discuss the Member Development Strategy to replace the meeting scheduled for 14^th December. In the meantime Members of the Committee should speak to their groups about the subject and gather ideas as to what should be included in the Strategy.

Feedback received from the meeting for discussion. 

Members discussed the Special Council Meeting held on 1^st November.  It was reported that feedback had been received from Members on the meeting and although there had been some negative comments particularly on the choice of topic,  there had also been some constructive comments designed to improve the event for next time.

Members suggested changes that could be made to improve the event and it was agreed that to be successful the subject of the meeting needed to have strong public interest.  It was proposed that the Committee should question the public about what they would like to see discussed in a Special Council Meeting and then pick items that were most popular.

Resolved:

(1)         That feedback from the Special Council Meeting held on 1^st November be noted and that for 2007 public consultation be utilised to identify suitable topics on which to base the special meeting.

(2)         That in the meantime the Head of Democratic Services obtain details, where possible, of successful event being organised by other Councils.