*SOLD OUT* New! Tips and Techniques for improving Conduct in Local Councils – In-Person October 10th at 10am to 4pm

Being part of your community and party to the decisions which shape the environment you live in, should be a positive experience.  After all, we live, play and may work alongside those we meet in the Chamber and in our daily lives.  As participants within the Council, we are held to a higher standard of scrutiny and sometimes the pressure builds and can become difficult to manage.

We will start the day with understanding the Standards Framework which we operate in, it’s proposed improvements and the issues that good Civility and Respect practices can address.  After Lunch we’ll move into the tools and tips for encouraging and improving respectful engagement whilst ensuring that robust debate and scrutiny can still play its part.

We are delighted to be welcoming Paul Hoey and representatives from both Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council monitoring officer teams.  They will be working with us to deliver a day with positive understanding and suggestions in making the next step to improving conduct in our Councils.

Civility & Respect 

This session will focus on the requirement in the Code to treat people with respect. The importance of civility and respect in public discourse is something which becomes ever clearer in the social media age. The NALC campaign to promote civility in public life is designed to ensure that our politics is conducted respectfully, while we are all only too aware of the abuse councillors and officers themselves often receive from members of the public.

The aim of the session will be to explore what we mean by ‘treat people with respect’ in a political environment where passions can often run high. Where does robust political debate tip into disrespect and bullying? How can we elevate the tone of debate locally? And where is the balance between our right to freedom of expression on the one hand and the importance of civil debate on the other? Will the proposed changes to the statutory framework help?

We will also look at examples of real cases and discuss their implications.

Specifically, we will discuss:

• taking responsibility for setting an appropriate tone for communication;
• leading by example in the community to encourage and foster constructive democratic debate and tolerance of other points of view;
• promoting and defending the rights of others to disagree, including political opponents;
• challenging unacceptable behaviour wherever it occurs and setting a local culture of respect.

We see civility and respect as essential if we are to:

• give the public greater confidence in the council and its members;
• increase democratic engagement from members and the public;
• build strong professional and interpersonal relationships between members and officers;
• help you to feel safe to do your job and have pride in your role.

Programme

10 to 11.30 – Standards framework: an update

11.30 to 12.30 – Civility and Respect – some of the key issues

12:30 – Q & A Panel Discussion

Lunch 12:45 – 13:30

13:30 Managing Conflict in Meetings

14:00 Creating and Maintaining transparent and productive communications

14:30 Embedding Roles and Responsibilities within Council Structures

15:00  What to when I …?

3.30pm – Q & A Panel

Cancellation: A full refund will be given if 14 days or more notice prior to the date of the training course is given. However, this could cause an event to be cancelled if it becomes uneconomic to run.

Venue: Mezzanine Rooms, County Hall, Aylesbury (check-in information will be circulated nearer to the time of the event) 

Members £90 per ticket

Non-members: £180 per ticket