A report by the Chief Executive included the summary of survey responses to the recent Elected Members Survey carried out on the topic of Corporate Governance attached at Appendix A.  Key Themes that had emerged from the survey were highlighted in the report indicating areas for further consideration by the Member Training Steering Group.  Members were asked to consider the proposed Action Plan in respect of the Corporate Governance Member Development Programme.

The Committee noted that the work stream appertaining to Elected Member Capacity – KLOE 10 was being steered and directed by the Member Training Steering Group (MTSG) which comprised of an Elected Member from each of the three Political Groups.

The Cabinet had approved a Survey for circulation to all Elected Members on 7 December 2011 and the MTSG oversaw the delivery of the survey to all Elected Members with a closing date of the 19 December 2011.  The survey could be completed on line, by telephone or on paper with anonymity and confidentiality built into the process for each method.  Follow up phone calls were carried out by Officers to maximise returns.  A total of 47 Elected Members had completed the survey equating to 71%.  General themes that had emerged from the survey had included:

• Members felt they had a wealth of experience to offer to the work being done by the Council on the topic of Corporate Governance arising from many years of service as Councillors, varied professional careers and other community roles.
• Open and honest communication skills were considered to be the most

valuable in terms of what would help the work of the Council in this area.

• An excellent and broad knowledge base about all aspects of the Council’s work was listed as the most popular requirement to practice in a way that shows good corporate governance.
• Honesty, patience and listening skills were the most important skills listed to enable Councillors to practice in a way that shows good corporate governance.
• Finance, general update briefings and IT skills were the most commonly listed development needs.
• More training was also requested on the topics of Decision Making Analytical Skills and Audit & Risk Management.
• The majority of respondents listed workshops and face to face session as their preferred method of learning.

It was proposed that the full and detailed responses from the survey be considered by the MTSG with a view to progressing to the next stage of developing a Corporate Governance Member Development Programme ready

to commence in February 2012.  The development needs, identified in the survey responses, would also further inform the Member Development Programme for 2012 – 2013 which would commence in June 2012.  The results of the survey would be made available to all KLOEs to assist their programmes’ progress as necessary.

It was also proposed that any pertinent feedback from the “Destination Excellence” Employee Events be taken into consideration by the MTSG at the

design stage of the Corporate Governance Member Development Programme.

As the Member Capacity – KLOE 10 underpinned other elements of the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan it was proposed that the Draft Corporate Governance Member Development Programme be shared with the Member Leads for all relevant KLOEs to ensure a joined up approach and to maximise effectiveness namely KLOE 2 – The review and refresh of the Code of Corporate Governance, KLOE 8 – Equalities, KLOE 6 Committee Services.

An Improvement Board would be established and the Local Government Association had recommended initial draft terms of reference.  These would be circulated to Members.  However, it was noted that these draft terms of reference were a starting point only and could be further amended if Members so wished.  It was anticipated that a key meeting would be held on Friday, 3 February 2012 to take the Improvement Board initiative forward.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the proposed Action Plan based upon the findings of the Elected Member Survey results be agreed; and

(2)  the Elected Member Survey results be made available to all the KLOEs for reference and consideration; and

(3)  the Organisational Development Manager and her team be thanked for their hard work on the Elected Member Survey.