ADSO is hosting the highly popular course ‘Just a Minute’.   Just a Minute will be delivered as two, virtual three-hour workshops.  Delegates will be required to attend both of the virtual workshops.

Audience
This course is aimed at Democratic Services Officers who are required to take minutes of meetings.   The target audience will be those who are relatively new to democratic service teams and those with a few years’ experience.

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 include plenary presentations, case studies and smaller group working, enabling delegates to learn with delegates from across the country.
This workshop aims to provide you with the skills and knowledge to write a local government minute, including:

• An understanding of the law relating to local government minutes
• Tips and good practice for notetaking and local government minute writing
• An awareness of the different minutes styles used for different types of meetings
• The opportunity to apply your knowledge in practical exercises and case studies with colleagues from other local authorities
• You will need to bring pen and paper, or laptop, or your own preferred minute writing medium!

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.

Gary Marson
Gary Marson is a vastly experienced Democratic Services practitioner having served 34 years in roles across London Boroughs and Surrey Districts. A qualified Chartered Company Secretary, he has worked in both Committee and Executive governance arrangements and clerked Full Council, Cabinet and all major Policy and Regulatory Committees as well as leading the scrutiny function and Schools Admission Appeals service at the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. Prior to his recent retirement Gary was the Corporate Head of Democratic & Electoral Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer at the Royal Borough of Kingston. He is an assessor for the ADSO Certificate in Democratic Services.

Date and time
Day One: 16th April 2026, 9.30am-12.30pm
Day Two: 23rd April 2026, 9.30am-12.30pm

Delegates are required to attend both workshops.  Please note that you only need to book on 16th April 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.

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.