The Charter for Elected Member Development

There are five key stages in working towards the Charter;

Stage 1: Commitment to the Charter and an Action Plan.

The authority will undertake a self assessment against the Charter criteria and based on the self assessment will develop an Action Plan supported and approved by SEE.

Stage 2: Improving the development of councillors

The local authority works towards achieving the Charter and meeting the requirements of the Action Plan.

Stage 3: Assessment

When a local authority considers it has everything in place to demonstrate it has achieved the Charter they will inform SEE who will make a judgement whether the authority is ready for assessment. An on-site assessment will be carried out by a trained team of an officer, a member, and Mark Palmer from SEE. A comprehensive report will then be sent to the Council following the assessment visit outlining good practice areas for improvement and whether it has achieved Charter status.

Stage 4: Awarding the Charter

When the authority has been assessed and once you have been awarded Charter status a certificate from South East Employers will be issued.

Stage 5: Reassessment

Once awarded, the Charter has a 'life span of' three years after which a local authority will be required to submit details of how it has sustained the standard. The authority is then reassessed against the Charter. We also carry out a more informal review after 18 months to check your progress and identify any needs.

The Charter – what is it and why do we need it?
The Charter Framework
South east Charter contacts
East Charter contacts

For further information contact Janine Gill.