Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report and Summary of Main Issues

1.1       ThepurposeofthisreportistoadvisetheCommitteeofNILGA’s2019Planning Training Programmeforelectedmembers (Appendix 1); seek permissionfortwoPlanningCommitteemembers to participate in the full programme; and to provide an outline programme for potential Committee workshops for August 2019 to April 2020 (Appendix 2).

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        note the appended NILGA 2019 Planning Training Programme for elected members;

·        approve the attendance of the Chair and Deputy Chair of Planning Committee, or theirnominees, to participate in the NILGA 2019Planning Training Programme; and

·        consider the draft Continuing development Programme for Committee Workshops.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       NILGA 2019Planning Training Programme Invitation

            NILGA has designed a regional elected member development programme for implementation during 2019-2020 following on from the 2018 pilot. The programme builds on the NILGA training initiative co-designed with the elected member development groups and the Regional Working Group.

3.2       The overall NILGA elected member development programme includes a strand in respect of a Local Planning Programme for elected members, a copy of which is set out at Appendix One. NILGA has commissioned the seven module programme, which will run from September 2019 into April 2020 based on the experience form the pilot in 2018. Each module will be held on a Friday afternoon with a proposed study trip in March 2020. At this stage it is anticipated that the venue for the training will be Antrim Civic Centre.

3.3       The programme will be interactive in nature and will be delivered by a pool of planning practitioners (details of the providers are included at Appendix 1). The programme will include short presentations; discussions; case studies and benchmarking practice in other jurisdictions; workshops with role play activity; a mock appeal; question & answer sessions; and an optional site visit to a council in Scotland.

3.4       A pre-requisite for the enrolment in the programme is that elected members who are nominated to attend must be in a position to complete all eight modules. Elected members who successfully complete the full programme, to a satisfactory standard, will be accredited with an endorsed Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) development award.

3.5       Committee Workshops Programme

            Members previously identified a number of areas of planning that could be included as part of a continuing development programme and this Committee requested a session in relation to the Local Development Plan. The appended programme seeks to set out suggested workshop sessions which will focus on some of the key issues identified and provide both support to members and the opportunity to explore some of the issues in more detail outside of the formal Committee sessions.

3.6       To address the issues raised the draft continuing development programme, detailing the proposed sessions and the indicative content, is set out at Appendix 2.  It is proposed the programme will initially address the issues highlighted during previous discussions and as the programme progresses Members will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the sessions which they have attended and identify other topics or key issues they may wish to have included.

3.7       Finance and Resource Implications

            The projected training costs associated with this report (£300-475 per participant and potential additional optional Study Visit cost) can be met from existing training budgets.

3.8       Equality or Good Relations Implications/Rural Needs Assessment

            There are no equality or good relations implications associated with this report.”

Appendix 1:

NILGA Regional Programme for Elected Member

Development 2019/20

NILGA has developed an all council Regional Programme Programme of Elected Member Development 2019/20, complementing your Council’s specific training, designed to provide the local government sector’s elected members with a co-ordinated toolkit of learning, suited to today’s responsibilities and challenge. This builds on the NILGA delivered - nationally accredited Charter initiative, has been co-designed by councils’ elected member development groups, councils’ member services and human resource officials, and the NILGA Regional Working Group. As part of this, accredited provision is available to elected members related to Planning. 

The NILGA Local Planning Programme is an ILM (endorsed award), 7 Module Programme, commencing on the 27th September 2019 and will convene once every month as follows:

Appendix 2

Draft Continuing development Programme for Committee Workshops.

August 2019 – April 2020

            The Committee:

1.      noted the NILGA 2019 Training Programme for elected Members;

2.      agreed the attendance of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, or their nominees, to participate in the NILGA 2019 Planning Training Programme; and

3.      agreed the draft Continuing Development Programme for Committee Workshops, and that all Members would be invited to attend.