Senior Members of Caerphilly County Borough Council to Receive Training on Respectful Engagement as Cabinet Meetings Halved

Senior members of Caerphilly County Borough Council will undergo training on how to “engage” with colleagues in a “respectful and trusted manner”.
The number of cabinet meetings at the local authority will also be halved starting this month.
Caerphilly Council’s chief executive Christina Harrhy announced the moves to councillors in an email, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The council has arranged for “tailored training and development to take place for senior members” at the end of September, according to the email.
Details regarding who would be involved in the training course were not shared.
“The Member Training and Development Programme will also continue in earnest as we head into the autumn,” Ms Harrhy added. “Specifically we will familiarise ourselves again with procedural and constitutional matters to ensure our meetings operate effectively and efficiently. 
“Additionally we will also focus upon our behaviours, ensuring we engage with each other in a respectful and trusted manner in accordance with the [council’s] Code of Conduct.”
Ms Harrhy reminded councillors that “individually we each have a responsibility to promote the council in a positive way and collectively”.
“Our behaviours define the council we are,” the email read. “As such, I hope you will make every effort to attend the scheduled training sessions over the next few months.” 
Separately, the chief executive announced fortnightly cabinet meetings would end and be replaced by once-monthly meetings.
“The same number of items will be dealt with but more efficiently in one, slightly longer meeting,” Ms Harrhy explained. “This will provide additional opportunities for informal policy discussions to take place with [the] cabinet and will also reduce the burden on colleagues involved in supporting meetings.”
These meetings will take place on Wednesdays in the middle of each month, and the council will hold special meetings “if an urgent matter or matters arise that falls outside of this schedule”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​