The Head of Democratic Services presented a report, the purpose of which, was to update the Democratic Services Committee with performance information relating to elements of support provided to Elected Members.

The report covered the following areas, upon each of which the Head of Democratic Services gave a resume:-

·         Member Referrals

·         Pre-Council briefings

·         Member Development

·         Annual Reports

·         Personal Development Reviews

·         Modern.gov Update

·         Welsh Language Standards

·         Webcasting

·         Members ICT Forum

·         Democratic Diversity

·         Member Support Officer Network

In terms of Member Referrals, Members queried if these could be left open indefinitely, ie until such time that the referral has been followed-up and acted upon and completed fully by the appropriate Officer of the Council it had been referred to.

The Head of Democratic Services confirmed that it was normal custom and practice to leave referrals open for a period of 3 months, though there was scope if the referral was not completed, to re-initiate the file after a further 3 months.

A Member pointed out that she normally took up any constituents queries or complaints directly with the appropriate Department as opposed to going through the Members referral system, though she was aware that this method would not be recorded as a ‘hit’ for her on the Members referral system where data was collated and available for inspection.

The Head of Democratic Services confirmed that if the Officer the referral was directed to identified that the appropriate Member had contacted them direct regarding this, as opposed to processing this through the referral system, then this would be logged accordingly as a referral in data collated for this purpose.

A Member recognised that a lot of work was committed to the Member referral system by Officers in the Democratic Services Section, however, he felt the system was important, as it gave an audit trail in terms of matters raised by constituents having been followed-up, so that the Member can then go back to the constituent with feedback on the referral.

A Member suggested that it may be advisable to approach other neighbouring local authorities to compare our procedures, practices and protocols with their own, to see if there may be a more effective method by which to deal with referrals.

A Member felt that there was no point in keeping a referral open, if this related to something that required a financial resource that the Directorate was unable to support due to budget restrictions under the MTFS.

The Chairperson advised that the number of referrals processed over the last few years was as follows:-

2012 – 2,972

2013 – 3,287

2014 – 2,513

2015 - 1,842 (to date)

Members concluded debate on this area of the report by requesting the Head of Democratic Services to look into the current process being undertaken in respect of the Member referral system, in order to establish if it could be improved or refined in any way, with assistance from other Departments if/where necessary, to include ICT, including options to keep referrals open for longer perhaps through a reminder type system being introduced.

Paragraph 4.2.3 of the report then showed the Pre-Council briefings topics that had been put forward or requested.

Members felt that the item on Domestic Violence should be prioritised, as should two further listed items, namely the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service item and Digital Transformation. It was also requested that two further items be added to this list on the topic of Mental Health Friends and the Military Preparation Training College. It was the opinion of Members also, that the pre-Council presentation in respect of an update on the Cultural Trust could be considered instead as a Member development training session.

With regard to Member Development training sessions held this year to date, as outlined in paragraph 4.3 of the report, the Committee felt that the attendance by Members at these was overall a little disappointing, and therefore, it was suggested that Group Leaders be approached to encourage their Members to increase and improve attendance at these events in the future, particularly as there was cost implication to the Authority in relation to arranging and holding these sessions.

Paragraph 4.3.3 of the report then listed topics for future delivery in the form of twice repeated hour sessions, or as part of a Round Robin event. Members agreed to add the following topics to this list:-

1.    Awen Trust (follow-up)

2.    Feedback on the Scrutiny Annual report

3.    Human trafficking

4.    Update on Gypsy Travellers

5.    Radicalisation of Young People (PREVENT)

RESOLVED:                  (1)   That the report be noted

                                       (2)   That the Head of Democratic Services investigates any possible refinements that could be made to the Member Referral System, and in turn, reports feedback on this to Members at the next scheduled meeting.

                                       (3)   That Members identified and prioritised topics to be delivered as Pre-Council briefings and Member Development sessions, as detailed above, and contained in the report.