Minister visits school to meet Councillors of the future
17 March 2008
On the eve of May’s council elections in Wales, Social Justice and Local Government Minister, Dr Brian Gibbons, visited St Cyres School in Penarth today to launch a new electronic guide for local government candidates and to discuss democracy with the voters, if not councillors, of the future.
The Guide has been developed by the WLGA with funding from the Welsh Assembly Government as part of a campaign to widen participation in local government.
Steve Thomas, WLGA Chief Executive said:
“The Candidates’ Guide is fully interactive and accessible online providing an insight into what being a Welsh councillor really means on a day to day basis. The Candidates Guide is the first step in delivering a series of e-learning resources that will provide candidates and councillors with essential information and resources on Welsh local government including local government finance, service delivery and standards. The Guide will also provide key information on best practice and will provide other useful sources of information like top tips for being a councillor in Wales.”
“Councils and councillors play a vital part of everyone’s everyday lives. Councils are responsible for billions of pounds worth of public services, ranging from schools to social services, from libraries to recycling. Only last month, local government’s national Excellence Wales Awards Scheme showed yet again that public services in Wales are at the forefront of innovation with local councillors at the helm of that success. The Assembly Government’s recent ‘Living in Wales’ survey showed overwhelming public satisfaction with local council services.”
The Councillors Commission report, published last year for councils in England, highlighted a number of recommendations for promoting the role and the development of elected Members. Councils in Wales are already well ahead of the game through the widening participation campaign, candidates’ resources and induction, training and member development programmes.
Ends
Notes to Editors
The candidates guide is available online at www.walescandidateguide.co.uk, and each candidate will be presented with a CD Rom version when registering their interest to stand with their local authority. Following the elections , a CD will be available across every council in Wales and to every Councillor, both newly elected and returning, which will support induction, self directed learning and will provide a valuable information resource.
Local Government elections will be held throughout Wales on 1st May 2008. The closing date for nominations is midday on 4th April 2008
The 2004 Census of Councillors conducted by the WLGA found that:
i. the average age of councillors in Wales was 57, with 88% of Councillors being aged 45 or over and only 4.3% aged 35 or under.
ii. 21.8% of councillors are women
iii. 0.8% of councillors were from an ethnic minority background
The Report of the Councillors Commission 2007 can be found at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/councillorscommission/publications/representingthefuture/