Councillors Surveys and Evaluations

Member Development Group (MDG) would welcome your thoughts on the member session 'Scrutiny Training and Development' which took place on 'Wednesday, 8 September 2021'.  Please cold you take 5 minutes to tell us what you thought about the event.  Your evaluation of the member session helps inform the improvement of and planning for future events.

This survey  will close at the end of the day on Sunday, 26 September.

All survey responses are treated as anonymous.

Thank you for taking part in this evaluation.

Member Development Group would be grateful if you are able to provide some feedback about the following  two member development sessions that were held on in November 2024 (if you only attended one event, then just provide your feedback on that session):

Responses are anonymised before being shared with the Cabinet Member, key officers and the Member Development Group.

Member Development Group would be grateful if you are able to provide some feedback about the following two Member Development sessions were held for members on Friday, 20 September 2024:

• ‘Carriageway Schemes Programme Prioritisation’ led by Guy Bell and John Bowyer
• ‘Transport Assessment Approach to Development’ led by Darryl Hemmings and Steven Shaw

Responses are anonymised before being shared with the Cabinet Member, key officers and the Member Development Group.

Member Development Group would be grateful if you are able to provide some feedback about the following two Member Development sessions were held for members on Wednesday 22 May 2024:

• ‘Digital Inclusion, Access and Safety’ led by the Community Safety Team
• ‘Additional Highways Funding (2024-25)’ led by Highways Operations Managers

Responses are anonymised before being shared with the Cabinet Member, key officers and the Member Development Group.

Member Development Group would be grateful if you are able to provide some feedback about the following two Member Development sessions were held for members in February 2024:

• ‘Summer Readiness on the Highways’ that took place on Wednesday, 21 February 2024
• ‘Secondary School Admissions’ that took place on Thursday, 29 Febrary 2024

Responses are anonymised before being shared with the Cabinet Member, key officers and the Member Development Group.

Member Development Group would be grateful if you are able to provide some feedback about the following two Highways Member Development sessions were held for members in December 2023:

• ‘Winter Readiness on the Highways’ that took place on Wednesday, 6 December 2023
• ‘Active Travel England’ that took place on 7 December 2023

Responses are anonymised before being shared with the Cabinet Member, key officers and the Member Development Group.

Member Development Group would be grateful if you are able to provide some feedback about the member development session Celebrating 100 Years of Libraries at the Heart of Our Communities that took place on Friday, 6 December 2024.

Responses are anonymised before being shared with the Cabinet Member, key officers and the Member Development Group.

Member Development Group would be grateful if you are able to provide some feedback about Coroner's Information Session for Members that took place on Friday, 19 April 2024.

Responses are anonymised before being shared with the Cabinet Member, key officers and the Member Development Group.

Member Development Group would be grateful if you are able to provide some feedback about School Place Place event that took place on Friday, 6 October 2023.

Responses are anonymised before being shared with the Cabinet Member, key officers and the Member Development Group.

Member Development Group would be grateful if you are able to provide some feedback about Adults Services event that took place on Wednesday, 22 March 2023.

Responses are anonymised before being shared with the Cabinet Member, key officers and the Member Development Group.

Member Development Group would be grateful if you are able to provide some feedback about the member development session.

Your feedback will help us to plan for and improve future sessions.  

The information you provide will be anonymised and shared with  Member Development Group, lead officers and the relevant Cabinet Member.  If you have any questions or queries, please contact: Tracey Guinea - email: tracey.guinea@westsussex.gov.uk or call on 033022 28679.

The Member Development Group (MDG) asks you to take the time to complete this survey about your experiences and thoughts regarding members' personal safety and
 the training and development provided to you as a county councillor. The survey is anonymous, but there is one question where you may wish to provide personal information so that this can be followed up with you.  Please be reassured that any information you provide will be kept confidential and personal details will not form any part of the survey results.   Please be sure to write any comments clearly to help with the analysis.  This questionnaire is also available online and a link will be shared in the next edition of the Bulletin.

The survey results will be reviewed by MDG and the outcomes/next steps will be reported back to all members. 

This survey will inform the review of the Council’s governance arrangements, due to be considered by the Governance Committee in March 2025. As members are at the centre of the democratic role of the Council, your experience of how well its ways of working serve that role is vital. As this is a complex and wide-ranging issue, a short background briefing is included for you to read before starting the survey. This includes some links to other online information. Please note, if you click on any of these links, to go back to the survey you should click on the arrow in the ribbon at the top left of your screen (don’t close the window or you will have to reopen the survey).

Thank you for taking the time to give your views.

Background Briefing

Review process and objectives

Governance Committee agreed in November 2024 to an internal assessment of the Council’s governance arrangements ahead of the May 2025 Council elections. This ensures the insight and experience of current members informs the assessment. The all-member survey will be supplemented by feedback from senior officers. Responses will be collated and reported to the Governance Committee in March 2025, when it will consider any next steps. The objectives of the review are to:

• check the Council’s governance culture, behaviours and processes are resilient
• reflect on the effectiveness of governance developments since 2019
• identify any weaknesses or risk of weaknesses emerging in the future

What do we mean by governance and who's responsible for this at WSCC

Governance covers how the organisation uses its systems, procedures and behaviours to ensure it achieves its objectives clearly, effectively and accountably - including the way decisions are made and how decision-makers are held to account.   Governance culture is determined by the council’s values, how decisions are made and how members and officers behave and work together and in their roles.

The Council’s Code of Governance sets out the framework of governance for Council business and decision-making. This is underpinned by the Nolan Principles of Standards in Public Life.

The Director of Law and Assurance is responsible for the effectiveness of the Council’s governance and for reporting on how well it complies with the Code of Governance through the Annual Governance Statement (AGS). This is monitored by the Regulation, Audit and Accounts Committee and includes an action plan to address issues identified. The Governance Committee oversees the Council’s democratic arrangements and advises the County Council on its Constitution.

When were the Council’s governance arrangements last reviewed?

• Monthly public Cabinet meetings with opportunities for more collective decisions and input from scrutiny chairmen and minority group leaders
• Reset of the approach to the role of Fire & Rescue authority, including establishing a dedicated scrutiny committee
• Revised arrangements for scrutiny, including call-in protocol, appointment of committee chairs and strengthened business planning
• Revisions to the Corporate Parenting Panel, strengthening the voice of the child

A detailed list of changes to the Council’s governance arrangements 2019 - 2024 was reported to Governance Committee in November 2024 and includes:           

• Merger of the Planning Committee and the Rights of Way Committee
• Strengthened member induction programme
• Revised Code of Governance and Whistleblowing Policy
• Revised and simplified decision and committee report templates
• Council processes: order of agenda regularised; limits to written questions; notices of motion process simplified; changes to time limits for certain debate speeches
• Cabinet and scrutiny committees carrying out quarterly performance monitoring in public, through the Performance and Resources Report (PRR)
• Executive-Scrutiny Protocol developed to cover the relationship between scrutiny and the Cabinet and a framework for working together effectively
• Health and Wellbeing Board terms of reference revised to clarify its role and purpose and to support greater collaboration between the NHS and social care
• County Local Committees removed and replaced with County Local Forums for a one year trial; County Local Forums reviewed and discontinued
• New Councillor Code of Conduct produced, based on the national Model Code of Conduct for councils
• Member Officer Relations Protocol revised (subject to approval by County Council in December 2024)
  
  
  Now please complete the survey and give your views on the Council’s governance arrangements.  
  
  Please note that there is an open text box at the end of the survey for you to make any further points or comments you wish to be taken into account. Also, if the text in the survey seems small, you can enlarge your view by clicking on settings (the three dots in the ribbon at the top of your screen).  This should open a drop down menu, which includes the option to “zoom” (click on + to increase the size).  Please do not worry if you see a message at the end of the survey saying that you have not answered 100% of questions.  This will be because you have not filled in some of the open text questions (which are optional).