Issue - meetings

The Councillors Guide to Personal Safety was last reviewed in March 2023.  Recent incidents in 2024 which have impacted upon Councillor safety have suggested that a review of the document should be undertaken and refreshed to reflect updated guidance.

[15 Minutes]

          Upon the invitation of the Chair, the Monitoring Officer introduced the report to Committee. A report on Personal Safety had been presented to Committee in October, detailing concerns around safety. The Committee made a decision that Councillors would seek feedback from their groups, and this would be brought back to this meeting. The Monitoring Officer had not received any feedback. He informed Members that changes had been made to arrangements for some Committee meetings including Planning Committee and Licensing-Sub Committee. There were now a number of additional security arrangements in place, and the approach to those meetings depended on the assessed risk level. These changes had been implemented as a result of an incident at Planning Committee the previous year. Feedback from Members around these arrangements had been positive, and it was felt there was strong mitigation against potential future incidents, and identification of individuals involved in any such incident would be easier. The Monitoring Officer thanked the Committees team, the Facilities team and colleagues in technical services for their work on this. These new protocols would be kept under constant review.

The Monitoring Officer explained that the Vice-Chair, Councillor May, had indicated to him prior to the meeting, her intention to raise the question of potential training around personal safety. He confirmed he would therefore be arranging training for Members around their personal safety both in the Chamber during meetings and whilst carrying out their roles in the community.

The Chair invited questions, and it was asked whether a buddy system could be adopted, which it was felt would be beneficial to Councillors. The Monitoring Officer would look into this.

Councillor Woodman proposed that the Councillors Guide to Personal Safety is effective and appropriate and needs no review at this time. This was seconded by Councillor Purser

The Committee

                    RESOLVED

The Councillors Guide to Personal Safety is effective and appropriate and needs no review at this time