Rother awarded Member Development Charter

Rother is the first district council and one of only seven authorities that have to date been awarded the Charter in the whole South East region.

The Charter for Elected Member Development has been developed by the South East Employers Organisation in partnership with the Improvement and Development Agency and is based on the North West Employers' Charter, building on the experience of their well established and successful regional Member Development Charter which all councils in that region have made a commitment to.

Rother says it recognises the importance of developing its elected members and providing them with the necessary support to enable them to carry out their ever increasingly complex role effectively and efficiently.

Its member development and training programme has been developed over a number of years and relies critically on the support and input from councillors.

The award of the Charter recognises the council's commitment and its ongoing strategic approach to member development and training through a structured training programme.

Rother District Council had to submit a portfolio of evidence to South East Employers setting out in great detail the work it had undertaken in this area.

An assessment team then visited the Council on March 27 to validate the submission and carry out a number of interviews with officers that had been involved in the process and a cross section of councillors.

The assessment team was led by Mark Palmer from South East Employers, accompanied by the regional director Jennifer McNeill, Kent County Council cabinet member Kevin Lynes and Debbie Faulkner lead member support officer from the Isle of Wight Unitary Authority.

Derek Stevens, Rother's chief executive said: "I am particulary pleased that the assessment team recognised the great amount of work that Rother has undertaken in the area of member development and clearly felt that Rother as an organisation needed to communicate its many achievements much more widely.

"This is an important achievement for the Council and is a demonstration of the value we place on our elected members and the very good working relationship the Officers of the Council have with them."

Rother council leader Cllr Carl Maynard said: "This is great news.

"The council has been subjected to a rigourous assessment process and has come out with flying colours.

"This demonstrates that Rother continues to be one of the flagship authorities within the area and I am sure that with the ongoing support of members from all political groups within the council we can remain at the forefront of member development and be an example of best practice to other authorities throughout the South East region and the rest of the country."