Hackney councillors urged to complete mandatory training – with only a few recorded as having brushed up on finance and child safeguarding

Hackney Town Hall

Politicians are getting reminders from the Town Hall about mandatory training – with only four recorded as having completed a course on finance and just eight on child safeguarding.

All councillors have undertaken in-person training about their code of conduct to help them understand their responsibilities.

In the year to March 2022, there were 14 complaints alleging a breach of the code of conduct.

One of these was later withdrawn and another was not investigated because there was not enough information.

The remaining 12 complaints did not meet the threshold for investigation, but two councillors were given “words of advice” by monitoring officers.

The council asked councillors to complete a form when they have done some of their other training. According to a council report, 31 per cent have filled in the form.

It is thought that some councillors have done the training but simply not completed the paperwork.

They have been reminded twice by their whips and the council sent them a reminder in September, two months after staff initially asked them to complete the paperwork.

Councillors have to complete different training depending on the committee work they do, with special training for those on planning and licensing. Those departments keep their own records about attendance at training.

The standards committee heard concerns that it is tricky to fit in some training because of the constraints of the council’s timetable.

Much of the training is online and staff are looking at ways to increase this, the standards committee was told.

According to Town Hall figures, just four councillors said they have done their virtual training in local government finance and budget setting; eight said they have completed safeguarding children and corporate parenting; and nine reported having done their training about safeguarding adults.

Most of the complaints about councillors related to posts on social media, according to the most recent annual report, with the second most common complaint about councillors “not responding to resident enquiries”.

Delays in scheduling training were “due to the extremely limited number of dates which are available within the council’s annual calendar”, according to the Town Hall report.

Some councillors have commented on the calendar “being very busy”.

The standards committee agreed that these training modules can be done every two years, instead of annually, as “a practical and pragmatic step if we are to avoid elected members falling into breach of the code inadvertently”.

It will also ask councillors to do training about the budget when they are elected, with updates if there are important changes, or to learn from the lessons of other councils. These could include Croydon being allowed to raise council tax by 15 per cent after financial difficulties or Thurrock’s £469m funding black hole after failed investments.

Many councillors work and have to fit training around their other commitments.

Standards committee chair Cllr Anntoinette Bramble suggested sending councillors a reminder about the need to update the paperwork and complete their training.