Islington Council gets award for member development excellence

Islington Council has received a London Councils award to mark its good work in helping their councillors do a better job.

The Member Development Charter is awarded to councils in recognition of their work to provide councillors with the support, skills and training they need to develop and to manage their local authority’s budgets and services. It is backed by Local Government Improvement and Development.

Chair of London Councils, Mayor Jules Pipe presented a Charter to leader of Islington Council, Councillor Catherine West, at a meeting of London’s borough leaders.

The initiatives introduced by Islington council include:
*requiring all councillors who undertake licensing training to sit an exam to show their understanding of the subject
*ward walks for councillors and officers to meet and get to know key local people
*involving new councillors in its Fairness Commission developed to make the borough a fairer place to live and work by tackling poverty and reducing inequality. This has helped new members understand the full range of issues across the borough in a short space of time

Mayor Pipe said: “Councillors have a huge responsibility not just in being community leaders but also making objective decisions on services affecting the lives of thousands of people. This current financial climate makes that role even tougher and it is vital that members are up to the challenge facing their councils and local communities.

“Islington Council has worked very hard to introduce ways of providing support to its members and helping them to develop their skills and knowledge. This not only benefits the councillors themselves, but also ensures that their residents receive the best possible leadership and services from their local council.”

Cllr Catherine West, leader of Islington Council, commented: "We want all of our councillors to be as well-prepared as possible to serve our communities.

"In these very difficult times of huge government cuts for Islington it is more important than ever that members are up to speed with their work, and training and support are vital to that."