Training plan for all newly elected councillors

One significant change to the ballot is the introduction of voter ID, which will require all electors to produce a form of photo identification – such as a passport, driving licence, immigration document or PASS card – to be eligible to vote.

This year’s elections will also be conducted in accordance with the new ward boundaries which come in to force on polling day – Thursday, May 4 – following the Local Government Boundary Commission review.

The council’s governance and ethics committee has given the go-ahead for a series of training sessions for new members and will also be distributing a new councillor handbook and mayoral handbook for 2023-24, to be issued after the council AGM on May 17 in readiness for the new municipal year.

The council’s director of governance David Pattison told committee members: “Not only are we planning for the forthcoming election, we are planning for after the election with the new municipal year that starts in May. One of the things that I am really pleased about is that the new induction programme has been designed by councillors for councillors.

“Site visits – tours of the city – are being proposed for all our new councillors so they will be familiar not just with our city centre, but all the ward areas so they get a full understanding of the different challenges faced by each area.”

The council’s head of governance Laura Gittos said: “The programme this year has grown and there are a few more training sessions that have been added in. We will have a session with West Midlands Police which will help new councillors with how they interact and work together within their communities.

“Another session will be dedicated to understanding our regional place and our place within the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), I’m very passionate about Wolverhampton and I believe that we are much more than just a Civic Centre.

“This year we have designed two types of tours – a bus tour and a walking tour. The bus tour will not just be about seeing the sights and showing everything as perfect. It will highlight our problem areas as well. The walking tour is around the city centre and will involve a good spread of locations. The councillor induction programme will also be shared with all candidates and agents in April so they can get a good feel for what to expect once they are elected,” she added.

Committee chairman councillor John Reynolds said: “One thing we need to do with new councillors is explain to them that IT equipment is provided to them and should be used, rather than have them requesting paper documents for everything.

“Can we try and get the new councillors to accept that it is IT equipment that we are going to be using, and we cannot carry on using paper copies with a climate change commitment.”

The new induction programme has been designed to include key elements that are essential for new councillors to undertake, such as code of conduct and data protection, as well as further beneficial sessions for both new and existing councillors including city environment, Wolverhampton Homes and anti-social behaviour.

There will be a cost of around £250 for the printing and publishing of 100 councillor handbooks and 100 councillor induction programmes. This cost will be met from the combined £2,000 budget set aside for books and publications in the councillor expenses budget.