Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer which provided Members with an update on activity since the last meeting in respect of complaints received by Durham County Council, and member training (for copy see file of Minutes).

Councillor Nicholson referred to the training session held by the Monitoring Officer on 3 October 2017 for Parish and Town Councils which she felt could have been better attended. A discussion ensued on the importance of training on the Code of Conduct and how attendance by Councillors could be improved, including whether it could be made mandatory.

Some Members suggested that training in the localities should be explored, however, Councillor McGaun was of the view that, given the size of the County and the number of Parish Councils, this may be impractical. The Member considered that sessions at 1.30pm and 5.30pm in County Hall, Durham were useful to accommodate Members.

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services advised that training in the localities was already available to Parish Councils upon request, and referred to the recent session held for Cornforth Parish Council, to which neighbouring Parish Councils had also been invited. County Hall was centrally located but there may be difficulties for those Parish Councils travelling from the outlying parts of the County.  The Officer advised that as Monitoring Officer, she could encourage Parish Councillors to attend Code of Conduct training but that she could not require Parish Council attendance to be mandatory.  

Resolved:

That the content of the report be noted.