The Head of Democratic Services presented a report of performance and updates in relation to the services provided to Elected Members.

He presented a table showing the number of Member referrals made to Directorates/Departments and completion dates for referrals created between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015.  He also highlighted the completion rates for referrals raised for the same period, which showed that 99.66% of referrals were completed compared to 96.14% in the previous year.  The Committee expressed concern that some referrals were being closed prior to their resolution and that they should remain open until they had been completed satisfactorily.  The Head of Democratic Services undertook to investigate this matter. 

The Head of Democratic Services reported on the member development activities held since the previous meeting of the Committee.  He stated that it had been planned to hold a pre-Council briefing on European Funding on 15 July 2015 but this would now be replaced by a briefing on the Ministerial Announcement on Local Government Re-organisation.  He also highlighted a schedule of proposed pre-Council briefings.  It was also planned to hold Member Development events on the topic of Universal Credit & Welfare Reform to take place on 26 June and 3 July 2015.  He also outlined a list of member Development activities which were planned to be scheduled.  A specialist member development activity on Committee protocols and procedures for the Development Control Committee would be taking place on 11 June 2015, with specialist member development activities planned for Scrutiny Members and Chairs in June and July. 

The Head of Democratic Services informed the Committee that all Members are provided with the opportunity to complete an Annual report for the previous year’s activities with senior salary holders expected to complete annual reports.  Details of the Members who have completed annual reports are reported to the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales.  In 2013-14, 30 Elected Members completed Annual Reports which were published on the Council’s website.  He stated due to staffing reductions in the Democratic Services team the level of support previously afforded to Members in completing their Annual reports would not be available.  The Head of Democratic Services undertook to get data on the number of hits to Members’ Annual Reports and email this information to the Committee. 

The Head of Democratic Services informed the Committee that the Elected Member Role Descriptions Portfolios would be updated to account for changes made at the Annual Meeting of Council and would be ready for use in the Personal Development Review Process.  He stated that Members will be provided the opportunity to undertake Personal Development Reviews which were required to be completed by 1 September 2015. 

The Head of Democratic Services informed the Committee to date, 12 of the 20 Town and Community Councils had completed the grant agreement and submitted claims for website grants.  No further claims could be accepted without reference to the Welsh Government. 

RESOLVED:               That the Committee noted the contents of the report, and:

·         Approved the amended schedule of pre-Council briefings as follows and that updates on the MTFS be the subject of reports to Council rather than the topic of a pre-Council briefing:

17 June 2015 – Supporting the Transgender Community

15 July 2015 – Ministerial Announcement on Local Government Re-organisation

2 September 2015 – Bullying in Schools

7 October 2015 – European Funding

25 November 2015 – Local Transport Plan  

16 December 2015 – Dark Skies

20 January 2016 – Domestic Violence Update

16 March 2016 – lessons from Fukushima

Update on the Cultural Trust – To be scheduled early in 2016.

·         Prioritised the delivery of Member Development activities as listed in the report with a preference for the Round Robin event to include Data protection and procurement Portal;

·         Approved the planned Member Development events listed in the report.