Please contact either Michael Robson Michael.Robson@northoftyne-ca.gov.uk or Shauna Healey shaunahealey@merseyfire.gov.uk
For more information, please contact Fiona Rae (frae@lambeth.gov.uk) or Maria Burton (mburton@westminster.gov.uk)
Please contact the Chair of the group, James McLaughlin, if you are an MO/DMO who would like to join the group by emailing James_McLaughlin@sandwell.gov.uk
Democratic Services have a vital role to play in terms of making sure councils make robust and democratically sound decisions. However, this role as one of the guardians of the democratic process can’t be at the expense of supporting local government to move forward and adapt to its ever challenging and changing context.
The webinar, delivered by the Chief Executive at Adur and Worthing Councils, Dr Catherine Howe, will explore how democratic decision making and design can be harnessed as part of organisational change and the opportunity Democratic Services teams have to support and be part of wider change in Local Government.
The potential impacts of opportunities of new technologies as well as some of the trends in citizen participation will be discussed as well as exploring how Democratic Services could reshape themselves and their skills to be part of that wider conversation and support change inside and outside of an organisation. It will also touch on some examples of the integration of democratic and deliberative approaches as well as looking at ways to kick start democratic innovation.
The webinar is particularly suitable for Senior Democratic Service Officers and Monitoring Officers as well as participation practitioners who want to understand more about how their work can integrate with democratic processes.
The webinar is sponsored by MVI Audio Visual (www.mvi-audiovisual.com), who provide standard software for automatic camera control, name displaying and voting automation in council chambers. Their products are widely used around Europe, including the UK.
Their remote participation product EasyConf Connect is designed for councils to live stream the council meeting, even in hybrid scenarios. It combines remote participants and in-room participants in a unique way. All meeting metadata, like attendance, speech times and voting results, is stored as PDF and can be integrated into the councils document management system.
Please note that you will need to be able to login in to GoTo webinar in order to access the webinar. If you are logging in from your workplace, you will need to ensure that GoTo has not been blocked by your organisation. Otherwise, you can log on from your mobile.
Please contact Georgia Latham (Georgia.latham@stockport.gov.uk)or Rachel Gibbons (RachelGibbons@wigan.gov.uk) for more information
Abuse and intimidation of our elected representatives is one of the biggest threats to our democracy in the UK. In the last seven years, two MPs – Jo Cox and Sir David Amess – were murdered as they met their constituents. Many elected representatives routinely receive abuse. Local Government Association data from 2022 showed that seven out of ten local councillors had experienced abuse and intimidation in the last year.
Building on extensive stakeholder engagement and research, Hannah Phillips of the Jo Cox Foundation will discuss the recently launched Jo Cox Civility Commission: Call to Action, report which offers practical and deliverable recommendations to tackle abuse in politics. Addressing the issue is complex and requires action across multiple different sectors including Parliament, local government, political parties and the police.
The webinar is particularly suitable for Democratic Services Officers. It will outline the nature of the problem of abuse towards elected representatives, explore the recommendations from the Jo Cox Civility Commission: Call to Action especially for local authorities, and discuss ideas for implementing these recommendations.
Please note that you will need to be able to login in to GoTo webinar in order to access the webinar. If you are logging in from your workplace, you will need to ensure that GoTo has not been blocked by your organisation. Otherwise, you can log on from your mobile.
Register for the webinar
The webinar is sponsored by Link Support Services (UK) Ltd led by David McGrath who is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel Development and former councillor. This year Link celebrates its 30th year providing lively, interactive and bespoke training for elected members and officers. Link supports over 150 public sector bodies in England and Wales including Councils, Combined Authorities, Police and Crime Panels, Fire Authorities and other national organisations such as the Co-op. It’s Link’s 10th year sponsoring ADSO too and we offer over 35 courses for councillors and officers. Courses include: Chairing Skills, Casework and Advocacy skills, Effective Committee membership, Public Speaking, Civic Coaching, Scrutiny, Planning, Licensing, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Local Government Finance and many more.
Link has trained councillors in Personal Safety Skills for over 10 years. As a former front-line councillor in Birmingham (8 years) and community campaigner for over 30 years, David McGrath and his team provide highly practical personal safety training for members (training over 1500 councillors between 2021-23).
Link’s courses look at how members can anticipate, prevent and manage potential risks in a range of typical scenarios (e.g. ‘on the doorstep, in surgeries, in challenging meetings, online and more). This thought-provoking training can be delivered at any point in the municipal year (induction, pre-election, refresher), and can also assist officers to review and bolster their member support strategies.
Visit Link support Services or email Linkukltd@aol.com or call David on 01676 522775 for further details on any of the Link courses.
