Issue - meetings

To receive the Diversity in Democracy Action Plan.

That the Diversity in Democracy action plan be approved.

In presenting the report the Chief Officer (Governance) provided an overview of the work undertaken in 2017 by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) to understand how elected councillors reflected the demography of the areas they represented.  This was adopted by County Council in July 2021.

The Chief Officer (Governance) reported on the workshops where this was debated, with Members supportive of the proposed action plan.  Good practice already existed within political groups and the national parties to promote and increase diversity.  The aim was to recognise that some sections of our population were under-represented on the Council and to look at the reasons for this and address any obstacles. This could result in a more diverse range of candidates on the ballot paper which provided greater choice for the electorate.

The action plan had been split into 11 work streams with each one aimed at increasing awareness of the role of becoming a councillor, the benefits and process of how to stand.  Assurance was also included that training and support would be provided once elected.  The Chief Officer (Governance) then referred to the profiling for International Women’s Day on the 8^th of March and provided information on the press release and profiles of female councillors to encourage more women to stand for election.

            Feedback from the workshops and the Constitution & Democratic Services Committee had resulted in several Members commenting that this would have been helpful when they stood for election.  An overview was provided of the actions undertaken and work required to produce that level of change with positive suggestions emerging from the workshops such as profiling councillors on international women’s day.  Another barrier was time off from work to attend meetings and discussions were being held with employers to address this and provide a better understanding of the role.   It was also suggested that the information pack provided to Members at the election count should be reduced with more information subsequently provided at the induction sessions

            The Chief Executive and Chief Officer (Governance) would shortly be holding online election awareness briefing sessions to answer questions, provide information and ensure the Diversity Action Plan succeeded.

            Councillor Tony Sharps felt it was up to the political parties to provide candidates for elections.

            Councillor Gladys Healey commented that if the support outlined in the report was provided it would be very beneficial to new Members and should be developed further.

The recommendations in the report were moved by Councillor Neville Phillips and seconded by Councillor Michelle Perfect.

RESOLVED:

That the Diversity in Democracy action plan be approved.