I’m trying to avoid talking about the election and Brexit, but I can’t help myself! I’ll try not to repeat what you will have gleaned from the media (and I mean all forms, print, TV, radio and social (although I do hope you don’t rely on Facebook for your political guidance)). For us these are challenging times. Councillors will have their focus elsewhere even though they need to be thinking about the 2020-21 budget, changes in service provision, the alleged end of austerity and so on. Many of us will be asked to perform all manner of electoral functions over and above the day job (albeit with some financial recompense). I can’t say I’m looking forward to the physical challenge of sitting in a polling station in six or seven layers of clothing for 15 hours, but it is an essential part of democracy and one that people have fought for over decades – and for which, apparently, another three million people have decided to register for.
Changing tack completely, I have just had a glance at the current forum topics. Things that caught my eye were the sacredness or otherwise of public notices of meetings (I must say that even at my current parish council we do this which is a nuisance in this weather! I got soaked yesterday. We do of course double up with the website but even fewer people look at that). Ipad, or should I say tablet, guidance is once again a popular topic. What is it about politicians that they have to be given guidance about not doing daft things? No need to answer that! Dual hatting (or even triple hatting) is generating a good debate. I’ve witnessed plenty of that over the years and whilst not illegal in most cases it can lead to conflicts of interest and pressures on time. The forum debates are going strong and I hope members feel it is a useful place to go. The final one I’ve been drawn to is the debate about cabinet leads or other members introducing reports rather than officers at full council meetings or cabinet. It seems that most of us haven’t experienced many officers addressing full council meetings apart from on points of law or constitution, whereas some do seem to be expected to do so at cabinet. From my perspective (and this may seem controversial) I think it shows an immature or weak cabinet if cabinet members can’t take the lead in introducing items in their name. One of the key drivers in changing to cabinet local government was to give clearer political focus to business – leaving that to senior officers seems to ducking the issue: discuss!
Finally, a couple of reminders:
– can those who attended the conference and haven’t already completed our survey please submit their feedback by Wednesday 4 December? The link to the survey is: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/M2RTTTM
– there is a ‘Working in a Political Environment’ course running on Friday 24 January at Wigan. Members should visit the Training courses page on the website and follow the link to book on
Peter Savage
ADSO Company Secretary