Hello again. I hope you all had a good week last week and ready for another as they sure come thick and fast. There is a training and development flavour to this week’s newsletter. Many thanks to Sue, our Director of Development.
Introduction to Electoral Services training
Last week you will recall I highlighted joint training sessions with the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA). This came about following requests from ADSO members. We have joined with the Association of Electoral Administrators to develop an Introduction to Electoral Services course which we are running on 21st February in the Midlands and 26th February in London. The course is suitable for any staff supporting the Elections function or for those wanting to increase their understanding of the role of Electoral Services. It will provide an overview of the process of Electoral Registration, the roles and responsibilities of the Elections team and the key events in an election. Further information and booking details are available here:
Committee Administration course – South East Employers
Another of our partner organisations, South East Employers is running an Introduction to Committee Administration course at the London Borough of Richmond on 27th & 28th February and 13th & 14th March. It is aimed at new or inexperienced Democratic Services Officers and covers meeting preparation including agenda preparation, decision making and minute writing as well as working effectively councillors. There is a discount for ADSO members. Further details are available on the SEE website: http://www.seemp.co.uk/eventscal?eventid=36691
Apprenticeships – views please!
We received a number of queries on how our training programme and qualifications relate to Apprenticeships and we published a paper on the website last summer, stating our position and suggesting setting up a small working group of interested employers to discuss this further. To date, we have not had any volunteers! However, we are still getting queries so we are putting out another call for those interested in Apprenticeships to join a working group to consider how ADSO can support its members (and their employers) in this area. The paper available on the ADSO website. Please contact Sue Keogh (sue.keogh@adso.co.uk) by 28th February if your authority is interested in taking part.
COMMITTEE INQUIRY INTO OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY
I am sure many of you will have seen the report which was published by the Select Committee in December and posted on our website in 17 December. The report is currently with the Government awaiting a reply. We are in discussions with Centre of Public Scrutiny (CfPS) as to how best we should respond and considering how we might try to address some of the points raised. You may be aware that we made a formal submission and gave evidence to the Select Committee, so we are keen to keep involved in the discussions and help influence development where we can. There has been some discussion on the member’s forum and it will be interesting to hear your views.
News from the Regions
South West
The SW held their regional meeting in early January and discussed the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). This is something that is likely to be discussed at the next board meeting in March. Sarah Selway who supports the SW region has kindly opened a discussion on the forum on this and it would be good to hear what colleagues are doing. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide- to-the- general-data- protection-regulation-gdpr/introduction/
Have a good week.
Dave