Town Hall
Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent
London E14 2BG
Training course description.
Local authorities are increasingly establishing new forms of service delivery to respond to budget pressures, increase efficiency and provide value for money with ever diminishing resources. Democratic Services Officers are being asked to support these new bodies, many of which operate at arms- length to the Council and outside of the more traditional governance processes. Different relationships, partnerships, responsibilities and lines of accountability are being formed. This requires new skills and knowledge on the part of DSOs – the same as the company secretarial role in the corporate sector. This has extended our role. We should see it as an opportunity.
The course will cover:
* the types of new service delivery models currently operating
* the legal framework relating to these bodies
* their relationship with the local authority including accountability, reporting lines, conflicts of interest and the role and status of those that serve as Directors on those bodies (i.e. independents, councillors and senior management of the company) serving on those bodies
* the role of DSOs as Company Secretaries or company secretarial support and the new skills and knowledge required.”