Welsh Training Scheme

Question

The Welsh Government has said that Town/Parish Councils must publish a training scheme from May. They have not yet published a template so we do not know exactly what has to go in it. In preparation I am asking the Council to set up a Training Policy and it's about this that I have a question. I would like nothing better than to make the Code of Conduct and Financial training a legal requirement but doubt this will happen any time soon. But we can put this in a policy. If we do are Councillors then obliged to take this training? And is then any action we could take if any Councillor refused to do so?

Thank you.

Answer 1

Here is a can of worms- please open with care! Whilst everyone would like to see better trained councillors doing the job ( sorry vocation) and those who have a desire to give their best will seek out and obtain whatever training is available. The problems will occur with putting it in the"rulebook". Whilst Wales seem to be hinting at this is mandatory it could be nothing more requisite that councils making access available to training for councillors and clerk.
Now if it is to be legally required then councils will have to do more than just make available a pathway to training. Right back to publishing requirements to anyone who seeks election to a council that there is such a legal requirement to take mandatory training. Then there is the question of who will be punished and by whom for not meeting the training requirements. Hence the can of worms.

Comments

As usual I completely agree with Mentorman there is absolutely no way any training can be made compulsory
If it was them it would also have to apply to all elected public officials including MP’s and Police Commissioners
Borough Councils have extensive trading packages but no one can be forced to train and to be honest I doubt if the electors are bothered one way or another

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Always been my personal view that councillors should be trained in order to do the job/vocation properly but I accept the issues that this would create.  My understanding (and I'm not in Wales) is that the requirement for a training plan/policy is to state that councillors can undertake training at the expense of the council if/when they wish (provided relevant to the job, I presume), i.e. an undertaking by the council to support requests for training for both councillors and staff and that a budget is set aside to support this each year.

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Thank you all for taking the time to reply. All our Councillors are aware that we have a training budget and they do not have to pay. (Unless they book and then fail to turn up without an adequate excuse). A few Councillors do attend various course but the majority do not. I agree with Jules that it will probably never be made mandatory, mores the pity. We shall have to wait and see what details are published and hope it encourages more to train.

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Have suggested before on these pages (and elsewhere) that one way of ensuring excellence from councillors is to have a professional body to which newly elected councillors would be invited. As with other professional body qualifications and levels of competency could lead to grading from entrant through to companion etc. These would be qualifications of knowledge that would be retainable and a quick way of assessing the abilities of a member who might seek election or co-option at another Parish
About time councillors became professional ( and accountable to their association and the electorate) in their duties to their communities it is after all the 21st Century don't you know!

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I thought that they were looking to make some training for councillors mandatory, and I know a few of the smaller councils were not happy about the potential costs to cover training. I would always encourage new councillors to go to training sessions, but the biggest problem were the "experienced" councillors who knew what they were doing as they had been doing it for years

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Agree about experienced Councillors as quite often they’ve not only never had training but also never been elected
Parishioner / Town Councils vary so much in size that one size doesn’t fit all
This means that training that’s necessary for one Councillor isn’t required by another
As far as I can see Cities that have one tier of government are as good at supplying local needs as areas with three tiers