Reports

Christine Ambrose Smith, Martin Goodearl & David Miller

With the elections over, we would like to thank the other Candidates who put their names forward for election. It is always important to engage in the democratic process. Unfortunatly, yet again we had an extremely low turnout of under 23% in Littleport which is disappointing.

A comprehensive series of introductions to East Cambs District Council has been arranged which commenced on Friday. This is mainly for the benefit of new councillors, but returning members are encouraged to attend, especially as there is mandatory training for councillors sitting on two of the committees (Planning and Licensing).

On Friday (Day 0ne) the daylong session started with a welcome by Chief Executive John Hill who went on the discuss the relationship between Council Officers and Members, across the political spectrum. John then introduced the senior management team who each gave a short presentation. Each spoke of their professional training and background and it was noted that most joined the council early in their careers, progressing with professional studies and qualifications as they moved up into their current roles. Almost all have worked with ECDC between ten and twenty years. Each gave a short overview of their departmental responsibilities. One of the most interesting was an in depth presentation by the Democratic Services Manager who described how the council works within the constitution and the legal requirements which Officers need to ensure are adhered to.

Following a lunch break which enabled councillors to meet officers and other councillors, a comprehensive session by the Planning Manager covered the planning process, the roles and responsibilities of the planning committee, and the various matters which come under the planning umbrella.

This was followed by a similar presentation by the Senior Licensing Officer covering the Licencing Department.

On Tuesday (Day Two) there will be further sessions around the IT Services for Councillors, The Councils Trading Companies, and a whistle stop tour of the services covered by the Council.

After these two days there are a further eighteen sessions, some all day, some a couple of hours, a few of these are mandatory while others are strongly advised and some simply ‘recommended’.

This is the most comprehensive induction and training process to date by East Cambs, and in addition to regular briefings and member seminars which run throughout the year.

At Full Council on 25 May the Chair & Vice Chair of the Council will be elected from within the 28 members and membership of committees announced. The membership of the committees will be made up using political proportionality. Currently the Conservative Group have 15 Councillors and the Liberal Democrat Group, 13 Councillors. Each committee has so many members and the number of members sitting on each committee is determined by the ratio of 15: 13: with seats ceded where necessary to reach a calculation across the board.

Membership of outside bodies will be announced shortly. These are organisations which have representatives of the council to take an interest in particular, attending meetings and submitting an end of year report.

I hope this gives a flavour of our activities at the start of this new council. As ever, please do encourage any resident to contact a District Councillor if they require help or assistance. Contact details for Ward Councillors will appear on the East Cambs website shortly.

Thank you,   Christine, Martin & David