ADSO is hosting ‘Council and its Governance Arrangements’ which will be delivered as two three-hour workshops held virtually.  Delegates will be required to attend both of the virtual workshops.

Audience

This course is aimed at Democratic Services Officers who wish to develop their understanding of the different types of governance arrangements and the role of Full Council meetings.  The target audience will be those who are relatively new to democratic service teams and those with a few years’ experience.

The content is also linked to the Council and Governance module of the ADSO Certificate so it will help learners with their research for this module.

How the course will be delivered

The course will be delivered virtually, to maximise the delegates learning experience the course has been broken into two virtual workshops.

The workshops will:

• provide an understanding of good governance principles and how they apply to democratic services
• provide an understanding of the internal governance arrangements by which councils exercise their powers
• examine the differences between Leader & Cabinet and the Committee systems
• explore how the Full Council meeting operates in different governance settings.

The workshops will include plenary presentations, case studies and smaller group working, enabling delegates to learn with democratic service officers from across the country.

Trainers 

Ian Millichap
Ian has over 30 years’ experience of working in local government and has spent 15 years in senior roles.  He has previously worked for London Borough of Southwark as head of the committee governance team.  Ian has Clerked Full Council, Cabinet and all Major Committees and has experience of both Committee and Executive arrangements.

Vicky Wemyss-Cooke
Vicky is currently the Committee Services Manager at London Borough of Camden and has been a DSO in London for almost 30 years and for the last 7 years has been the Committee Services Manager in Camden, managing a small team servicing Council, Cabinet, scrutiny and non-executive committees, along with a range of other bodies such as school appeals panels and tenants’ consultative committees.  Throughout her career, she has also undertaken a range of roles in support of local, national and regional elections and currently serves as Chief Count Supervisor for the Holborn and St Pancras Constituency area.  Vicky has been an active ADSO Member from its inception and is an assessor for the Certificate in Democratic Services Knowledge.

Date and time

Workshop One: Tuesday 30th Sept 2025, 9.30am-12.30pm
Workshop Two: Tuesday 7th October 2025, 9.30am-12.30pm

Delegates are required to attend both workshops.  Please note that you only need to book on 30th Sept course date to be able to attend both workshops.

Cost

• ADSO Member rate – £110 + VAT per person to attend the course
• Non-ADSO Member rate – £160 + VAT per person to attend the course
• ADSO Certificate in Democratic Services Knowledge Learner – Free

How to book a place 

To book a place please use the online booking form via the link below.  Terms and conditions for booking can be found here.

Please note that ADSO will now only be using their Membership bank account.  The details are below:

Account Number: 23545903
Sort Code: 20-02-25

Booking requirements

• A purchase order number is required for all bookings made out to ADSO (see note above).  Courses cannot be attended if a purchase order is not received.
• A hardcopy of the purchase order is required.
• Please provide us with your ADSO Membership number (if applicable)
• A few days after booking you will receive a calendar invite for the workshop(s).  Please note that your email address will be visible to all participants unless you advise us otherwise.

Please send the above information to adsotraining@emcouncils.gov.uk.