TO TRAIN OR NOT TO TRAIN?

I have always been a firm believer in training, not only for my own personal development, but also in the belief that in my role as an elected member of both South Somerset District Council and Somerset County Council, that when making important decisions which will affect local residents, I must be well informed.

As a long-standing councillor, who has served on a number of statutory committees, and who has been in receipt of the appropriate training, I nevertheless feel a little aggrieved when I am required to repeat the training.

However, we can all learn something, and it is vital, for newly elected councillors especially, to receive the appropriate training in order to retain public confidence in the decision-making process. Several recent decisions seem to have given rise to public concern.

It is natural that at public committees, such as the Regulation Committee, particularly when dealing with large planning applications, that feelings will run high.

On occasion, when elected members who serve on such committees are unable to attend due to other commitments, it is possible for them to be substituted by another member.

Until today, I had understood that this was only possible if the substitute had received the appropriate training.

In an email exchange from an SSDC Officer as recently as 17th October 20219, I received the following: ‘I have checked back on the member training and as the proposed substitute has already undertaken the regulation training, any other members would have to undertake training before becoming an active member of the committee.’

At the time of writing, when five substitute members were put forward to attend today’s Regulation Committee meeting, no confirmation was forthcoming for a number of those present having received the appropriate training.

When this was challenged, the response was that this was not a legal requirement (true, but not the way it was originally put to us by SSDC), simply that members of committees should be ‘reasonably experienced’. There is of course the argument that those attending today’s meeting, many having only been appointed for the first time in May 2019, cannot possibly be experienced enough to make a decision in relation to a large development of 120 dwellings, which will have significant impact on a small market town.

I fear this is SSDC changing the goal posts. Should we be trained, or not? Surely, we must expect that those making such decisions on our behalf, not least because in relation to local authorities, and parliament, they are funded by the taxpayer, should have knowledge of the subject matter in hand?