Brighton & Hove City Council
At a glance

Charter Commitment – July 2006

Cross-party working group – senior members plus newly elected
representatives involved to ensure new members’ views given weight

Development programmes to facilitate major change, including change of
administration, two changes of Leader and new governance model

Key initiatives implemented included a 6-month induction process, personal
development planning, political group mentoring and joint learning for
officers and members

Charter Awarded – September 2008
Benefits for Councillors:
“The Charter gave us a clear
framework for systematically
improving member development .
We have moved from a position
of having had no effective
member learning in 2005 to a
position where development is
acknowledged to add significant
value by members and officers
alike.”
Caroline Banfield
Democratic Services Manager
(Charter lead officer)

A comprehensive learning needs
analysis carried out with all members’
and senior management team’s input.

Engagement from members increased
steadily – 80% response rate on
identifying learning needs, 100%
participation rate in some element of
the programme

Group based and role based
development opportunities provided –
e.g. scrutiny programmes and political
group mentoring

Leadership development opportunities
expanded, particularly in the lead up
to the new governance model being
adopted
Benefits for the Council

Member development activities are
now clearly focused on the Council’s
corporate priorities

Member learning activities enable us
to proactively prepare for future
change

Charter activities help raise the
profile of community citizenship and
participation in local democracy

The Charter has provided access to
a network of authorities and
opportunities for both officers and
members to share best practice but
also to undertake shared learning
“Member learning has made a real
difference to our councillors and has
had a positive impact on the quality of
services that our residents receive.
Given that it has already played a
crucial role in enabling this council to
negotiate major change, I am
confident that member development
will continue to enable us to adapt to
changing local and national priorities”.
Alan McCarthy
Chief Executive
Benefits for Communities
“I’ve seen a change in both newly elected
and experienced colleagues as a result of
the development opportunities on offer
here. As well as traditional learning
activities, we’ve launched a blog site to let
people see what councillors do, and run
Youth Question Time events to
encourage young people to participate in
local democracy. I really value what the
Charter has done for us”.
Mary Mears
Council Leader

Increased public awareness
about the role of the Council and
Councillors

Public resources spent on
Member Development more
efficiently

Councillors have access to the
knowledge and support they
need to support their role as
community leaders
Who can I contact?
If you want to talk about the challenges and benefits of the Charter programme,
please get in touch with us:
Contact name: Caroline Banfield
Telephone: 01273 291126
Email: [email protected]