More councillors need to complete mandatory training with only 15 online courses done by members in the last year.

Members of the democratic services committee heard on Monday (June 21) that take up of online training had been excellent among council staff – with more than 29,000 online courses completed – but only 15 completed by councillors.

Between March 31, 2020 and March 31 this year 29,228 e-learning completions were recorded, but of those only 15 were undertaken by elected members the committee was told.

Time management was highlighted as a possible reason for the low uptake by Clr. Jamie Adams who said “it’s the constant juggle of work, family and council duties that the majority of us are having to balance.”

He added that he was “not pointing fingers” but most staff would be able to do the training in work hours but councillors were “expect to do it in addition to our working hours” which made it harder for some to complete.

This was echoed by Clr. Di Clements, committee chairman, and Clr. Elwyn Morse who both said prioritising time could be hard in a busy schedule, with IT problems also adding to delays sometimes.

A survey of councillors and their awareness of training is to be undertaken to find out why so many are not taking part and encourage greater engagement, the committee heard.

The feedback will be used to develop the elected member induction process and the redesign of personal development reviews, a report adds.