Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Moran.

There were no substitutions submitted.

If a Member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, h/she is advised to contact the Borough Solicitor in advance of the meeting.  (For the assistance of members a checklist for use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet.)

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2017.

AGREED:      That the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2017 be noted.

To consider the report of the Borough Solicitor.

Consideration was given to the report of the Borough Solicitor as contained on pages 7 to 8 of the Book of Reports which provided feedback on the induction process provided to two newly elected Members undertaken in June and July 2017.

The Principal Overview & Scrutiny Officer outlined the report.  Feedback to the process had been positive and one Member had taken the opportunity to attend the 'Hitting the Ground Running' event for newly elected Members.  She explained that in anticipation of next year's Borough Election, induction for Members new to the Council will again be made available but with an added emphasis on electronic support to their role.

AGREED:      That the induction process for newly elected Members, be noted.

To consider the report of the Borough Solicitor.

Members considered the report of the Borough Solicitor as contained on pages 9 to 13 of the Book of Reports which provided an update on Member training and Briefings undertaken since March 2017.

In discussion comments and questions were raised in relation to the

·         types of training undertaken

·         attendance at organised events

·         provision of IT training

·         Corporate training for staff – opportunity for Members to join events, for example Microsoft training.

AGREED:       That the update be noted and comments be referred to the Borough Solicitor.

To consider the report of the Borough Solicitor.

Members considered the report of the Borough Solicitor as contained on pages 15 to 19 of the Book of Reports which provided an update on the analysis of completed Councillor IT Training Requirements Questionnaires.

AGREED:      A.        That the update be noted.

B.        That Members note the training arrangements being held for I-Pad training sessions in preparation of becoming 'Paperless' by April 2018 and also of future training sessions which will be held on the various Microsoft Applications for Members who wish to attend these.  Members will be notified of these training sessions in due course.

To receive feedback from the Member Development Group Representatives.

The Chairman and Group Members outlined several IT issues that Members encountered. 

In discussion the following comments and questions were raised in relation to:-

·         Log in process - password recognition; password expiry after 90 days - advising Members requirement to reset password in Corporate building

·         BT Lancashire Services – enhanced ICT support for West Lancashire Borough Councillors – "VIP" service provision

·         'Paperless/ Electronic' Agendas – increase default font size

·         Electronic Calendar - 'flag up' facility of daily/weekly Committee meetings and other scheduled events

·         Laptop users – provision of training event/s for Members

The Member Services Officer explained that the issues Members had experienced with password expiry complications were being looked into and Members will be updated in due course.

AGREED:      That the feedback and comments be referred to the Borough Solicitor.

To receive an update on future training.

The Member Services Officer outlined and informed Members of future training events taking place including the following:-

·         I-Pad Training – 21 September 2017 – 2.00pm

·         Planning Training (Drainage) – 27 September 2017 – 6.00pm

·         I-Pad Training – 11 October 2017 – 6.00pm

·         I–Pad Training – 21 November 2017 – 10.00am

·         Modgov Training – 22 November 2017 – sessions held between 10.00am – 3.30pm

AGREED:      That the update on future training be noted.

To consider the Work Programme for the Commission and note the date of the next meeting.

Members considered the Work Programme for 2017/18 and date of the future meeting of the Commission on 15 March 2018.

AGREED:      That The Work Programme and future date of the Commission on 15 March 2018 be confirmed.