What is the Charter?
Any local authority dedicated to meeting the needs of its community must be committed to developing its elected members. The evolving modernisation agenda has placed increasing emphasis on an authority's need to rethink its approach to member support and development. The impact is such that the majority of local authorities across the West Midlands now have some form of support programme in place, however, the approach, levels of commitment, effectiveness and progress varies considerably.
The West Midlands Charter, therefore, has a number of objectives:
- To ensure local authorities deliver quality leadership and services to their public
- To raise the level of performance of those responsible for the political management and direction of the local authority
- To raise the profile and encourage commitment to elected member development
- To raise the standard of elected members development and support across the region
- To recognise those local authorities which have demonstrated their commitment and achievement
It is important to emphasise that this is not about trophy hunting, it is not about getting another plaque on the wall, it is not about ticking the boxes to get accreditation. Quite simply, the purpose of the West Midlands Charter is to improve the performance of local autorities, through the development of elected members.
How do I find out more?
To find out more download the Member Development Charter Guide.
Newsletters
To encourage shared learning throughout the region, WMLB has created a newsletter which will be distributed on a quarterly basis. Please read previous Newsletters.
If you have any feedback or would like to contribute to a forthcoming newsletter contact Carrie Rowberry.