The Member Development and Standards Sub Committee met to discuss member learning and development, and standards in relation to past members. The bulk of the meeting was scheduled to focus on the Member Learning and Development Strategy 2025-29 and a rolling programme of training events for 2025-26. The committee was also scheduled to approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

Member Learning and Development Strategy

The Town Clerk was scheduled to present a report regarding the Member Learning and Development Strategy 2025-29, including a delivery plan for a structured, rolling programme to support all members of the Court of Common Council¹ in broadening their knowledge and skills.

The report noted that at the last meeting of the sub-committee on 8 July 2025, members were presented with the previous Member Learning and Development Strategy and the Rolling Programme of Training Events for 2023-2025. It was suggested that the rolling programme for 2025-2026 should operate on the same quarterly themed basis as the previous programme. The themes for 2023-2025 were:

• Leadership Skills
• Health, Safety & Wellbeing
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Data and Information

The report included a refreshed Learning and Development Strategy for 2025-2029, and it was noted that any ongoing Member Learning and Development Programme should make use of in-house expertise to allow for greater tailoring of activities and a more cost-effective approach. The recording of training sessions would also be routine to promote accessibility and value for money, with recordings uploaded to the Members' Portal. Member attendance would be captured throughout the rolling programme, and individual training records would be adopted.

The primary focus for Quarters 1 and 2 of 2025-26 were upon the delivery of the Member Induction and Refresher Programme. It was proposed that the rolling programme would resume for Quarter 4. The themes for 2025-2027 were scheduled to be:

• Ad-hoc training (including requests made during the Member Induction)
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Leadership Skills
• Health, Safety & Wellbeing
• Data and Information

The report stated that it was considered beneficial to add a specific statutory training theme, with all members afforded the opportunity to undertake requisite licensing and planning training.

Additional training requests that arose during the induction were scheduled for delivery during Quarter 3, including:

• Chair's Training (for Chairs, Deputy Chairs and aspiring chairs)
• Planning Training (for All Members, including non-planning Members)

The Members' Portal is a dedicated Member Resource page on the City Corporation intranet, providing access to key documents, contacts and information. It was intended that the portal would not only allow members to find out about training opportunities and book onto courses, but also operate as a 'one-stop shop' for the dissemination of a large volume of Member-related material.

The report stated that it would be crucial to monitor and measure delivery to ensure the appropriate use of resources, and to allow learnings to be taken forward for the future. It was planned to deliver against this by reporting quarterly on the following metrics:

• Course offerings for the previous quarter
• Course attendance figures
• Qualitative feedback for individual courses
• Budget and cost updates

The report stated that ensuring a comprehensive Member Induction and longer-term Member Development Programme promotes high standards of corporate governance and demonstrates support and democratic services which meet the needs of elected Members and the electorate.

Standards in Relation to Past Members

The Town Clerk was scheduled to present a report on standards in relation to past members, but this document was not available for public viewing at the time of writing.

Public Minutes

The Sub-Committee was scheduled to approve the public minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2025. According to the minutes of that meeting, Deputy Henry Pollard, Chief Commoner welcomed new members to the sub-committee and thanked Deputy Peter Dunphy for his contributions as Chief Commoner and Chairman. The sub-committee elected Deputy Helen Fentimen OBE JP as Deputy Chair for the year ensuing. The sub-committee also considered the Annual Report of the Panel of Independent Persons² and a review of the 2025 Member Induction Programme.