Issue - meetings

The report of the Service Manager – Corporate Services is attached.

The Service Manager – Corporate Services presented a report which included the 2018 Be a Councillor Guide to assist with the development of a 2022 equivalent, which is due to be published in summer in line with the ‘party’ nomination processes.

The Group noted the updates and changes required to bring the 2018 Be a Councillor Guide up to date and were asked to identify any further changes they feel needed to be made. Some additional content ideas put forward by officers were provided for the Group to consider as follows:

·       Section on diversity – councillors from all backgrounds and experiences are required to represent the community – possibly with some demographic information 

·       What I wish I’d known four years ago – section specifically focusing on the experiences of new Councillors in 2019

In addition, the Service Manager – Corporate Services highlighted further activities to support and run alongside the publication of the 2022 Be a Councillor Guide:

·       Outreach events for prospective councillors (mainly at the Town and Parish level) in three or four different locations across the Borough – presentation and FAQs led by the Chief Executive.

·       Social media campaign including a number of videos with councillors – preferably highlighting younger councillors, those from non-white backgrounds, and those that have achieved something tangible (and therefore engaging on video) for their community

The Group welcomed the ideas suggested by officers and felt the guide offered a good understanding of what being a Councillor entailed. The Group offered some additional ideas in respect of encouraging new Councillors.

These included:

·       Inviting prospective candidates to come along to Council meetings to see what goes on and how decisions are made – This could include edited YouTube and social media reels of past meetings where noticeable decisions had been made.

·       Encouraging existing Councillors to get involved – providing quotes for the 2022 Be a Councillor Guide and being on hand to provide a face to face dialogue with prospective candidates.

·       Encouraging more diversity – ethnicity and disability and how the Council can adapt its ways or working to encourage new candidates – Including accessibility to Council meetings

It was RESOLVED that the Member Development Group:

a)    Noted and agreed the changes contained in paragraph 4.1

b)    Noted and agreed the new content contained in paragraph 4.3

c)     Noted and agreed the supporting activities outlined in paragraph 4.5

d)    Approved that officers could move forward with the 2022 Be a Councillor Guide and associated activities to promote the role of a Councillor in advance of the May 2023 Borough, Town and Parish elections.