The Standards Advisory Committee met to discuss the preparations for the 2026 Member Induction Programme, and to review the quarterly update on the register of interests, gifts and hospitality. Councillors also received an update on the Member's Pledge, a behavioural framework being developed with the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny.

Member Induction Programme 2026

The committee discussed the initial ideas for the Member Induction Plan in preparation for the local elections in May 2026. The plan aims to support councillors with administrative tasks, provide information about how the council operates, and offer skills and development programmes.

Matthew Mannion, Head of Democratic Services, explained that the council is using feedback from members and directorates to develop the plan, as well as engaging in discussions in the wider sector to ensure the programme meets with best practice.

The proposed plan builds upon the 2022 plan, and includes:

• Contact with candidates before the election
• Signing of Acceptance of Office/Code of Conduct forms at the election count
• A 'Welcome to Tower Hamlets' evening to meet the Chief Executive and Senior Leadership
• A series of development sessions and seminars, beginning with statutory and required training followed by information sessions and briefings about council services
• A wrap up session after 6 months of being a Councillor

The council aims to complete the main induction programme by the end of July 2026, and will continue to operate on the principle of one daytime and one evening date for each session to help Members balance their conflicting responsibilities.

The new induction plan will have a greater emphasis on developing skills relevant to the role, linking into the new Individual Member training budgets programme. New initiatives being considered include:

• 'Be A Councillor' events to allow those standing for election to learn more about the role
• Political Group Mentoring to support groups in developing their role on the authority
• Individual Member Training Budgets and Personal Development Plan sessions
• A Councillor Development Certificate, awarded by the council for completion of a set of core courses

Councillor Shahaveer Shubo Hussain said that while he liked the idea of skills-based training, he felt there needed to be a level of basic information that everyone needs to have. He suggested a takeaway slide deck that people can refer to. He also suggested skills audits and personal development budgets.

Members' Pledge

The committee received an update on the development of a behavioural framework for elected members, referred to as the Members' Pledge. Joel West explained that this followed guidance from the ministerial invoice and involved workshops with councillors from different political groups.

The Members' Pledge will be based on six themes:

• Listening and working together
• Civility and political debate
• Aspirational and future-focused
• Transparency and accountability
• Resident-first leadership
• Respect and inclusion

For each theme, members collectively agreed a draft ambition statement, a list of behaviours, and some early warning signals. A draft pledge will be launched in October, and members will be expected to live test it before it is revisited at a final workshop.

Councillor Ezra raised the idea of mandatory training for all new elected members after the next local election to ensure that they honour the pledge. Joel West responded that the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny have been wary about using terms like mandatory, but that the working group will need to take a view on it.

Lee, a TAB member, said that they had been cited early on the continuous improvement plan and had tried to feed in views from operational discussions to more poor behaviour and possible sanctions.

Register of Interests and Gifts and Hospitality

The committee reviewed the quarterly update on the register of interests, gifts and hospitality. Patricia Attawia, Democratic Services Team Leader, Civic and Members, reported that all councillors had responded to the July reminder to confirm that their register of interests is up to date, but responses were still outstanding from two co-opted members.

Two declarations of gifts and hospitality had been received between 1 July and 31 August:

• Councillor Ahmodur Khan declared hospitality from Mount Anvil, with an estimated value of £40, for a community day trip attended as a volunteer.
• Councillor Maium Talukdar declared hospitality from Mount Anvil, with an estimated value of £40, for a community day trip attended as a volunteer.

The committee noted the report.