Agenda

Contents

1          Cabinet Office and Democratic Services

2          Correspondence

3          Council Bodies Diary

4          Political Group Rooms

5          Identity (ID) Card

6          Receipt of Mail / Agendas etc.

7          e-mailing and Postage

8          Councillors Microsite (SharePoint)

9          Administrative Support

10        Photocopying, Fax and Scanning Services

11        ICT Support

12        Training

13        Electoral Ward Surgery Support

14        Web Pages

15        Councillor Meeting Room

16        Further Information Contact List

Bookmark 1

The Cabinet Office provides a Personal Assistant role to the Cabinet (Executive) Members.

The Democratic Services (DS) Team provides general administrative support to all non-executive Councillors.

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Bookmark 2

1                    As part of the Sustainable Swansea - Fit for the Future programme, Councillors and Co-opted Members have become more self-sufficient.  The self-serve agenda has seen Councillors embracing IT, associated software and the Oracle payments system.

2                    Councillors are expected to manage their own e-mails, diary and correspondence.  Should they require any support then training can be provided in certain areas by the Training Team.

3                    The Cabinet Office / DS Team can assist with proof reading of documents on request.

4                    The Cabinet Office / DS Team can send out general non-political mailings for Councillors Electoral Ward work.  However, Councillors are expected to type their own letters although the Teams can assist with formatting.  The Cabinet Office / DS Team will arrange for the letters to be printed via DesignPrint but any folding or postage costs will be taken from the individual’s Councillors Community Budget.

5                    The Cabinet Office / DS Team can’t deal with correspondence that is political, contains information which could be deemed to be libellous or is of a personal nature.

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Bookmark 3

1                    The Council Bodies Diary may be viewed online at http://www.swansea.gov.uk/councildiary

2                    The Cabinet Office will assist with the management of diaries for Cabinet Members.  All other Councillors and Co-opted Members are expected to manage their own diaries.

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Bookmark 4

1          Depending on the size of a Political Group, it is likely to have a room allocated to it.  Rooms will be provided with the following items:

·             Pigeonhole for your agendas, mail etc. to be left for your collection;

·             PC(s);

·             Telephone(s);

·             Storage facilities (currently 2 filing cabinet drawers per Councillor);

·             Office furniture.

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Bookmark 5

1          All Councillors are required to wear their ID Card at all times.  The Card allows access within the Civic Centre and Guildhall.

2          If your ID Card won’t allow you access, visit http://www.swansea.gov.uk/staffnet/replacementflexicard.

3          If you lose or misplace your ID Card please inform the Cabinet Office / DS Team immediately.  HR will “block” the card to ensure it is not misused by anyone else.  A replacement can be ordered at a personal charge to the Councillor (currently £5).

4          Temporary passes can be obtained from the DS Team and must be returned prior to exiting the building on the same day.

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Bookmark 6

1                    Incoming mail including agendas for Council meetings will be distributed daily and left in pigeonholes provided for each Councillor.

2                    The Authority currently provides a mail delivery service for all Councillors on a Friday evening; however Councillors are asked to make every effort to collect any agendas / mail directly from their pigeonholes in order to reduce costs.

3                    A number of Councillors have opted out of the mail delivery service.  They have chosen to collect agenda(s) themselves and utilise the Modern.gov app to download electronic versions of the agenda.  Agendas are also emailed out directly to all Councillors.  The  Councillors, Democracy and Elections web pages may be viewed at https://democracy.swansea.gov.uk/

4                    If you wish to Opt Out of the Mail Delivery Service, please inform the Cabinet Office / DS Team.

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Bookmark 7

1          Councillors are advised to use electronic correspondence wherever possible.  The Authority can send mail on behalf of a Councillors; however for bulk mail the cost will be deducted from their Councillors Community Budget.

2          The Cabinet Office / DS Team will not print out all e-mails for a Councillor.  However training can be arranged so that the Councillor is taught how to do so.

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Bookmark 8

A dedicated Councillors “micro-site” online tool is available to display useful information for Councillors.

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Bookmark 9

1          Both Teams will answer general telephone queries from members of the public, and signpost where necessary to the relevant Councillor or, provide Assembly Member / Member of Parliament etc. contact details.

2          Both teams will act as a central contact point for Councillors for their general enquiries for Departments and provide information regarding Officer contacts within Service Departments.

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Bookmark 10

1                    Multi-Functional Devices (MFD’s) are available in key locations throughout the Authority.  All Councillors will be provided with a printer account which may be accessed via a Councillor ID card.  Please note that personal printing is not permitted.

2                    The MFD’s also include a scanning facility which allows documents to be scanned and sent via e-mail.

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Bookmark 11

1                    There are two ways to contact the ICT Service Desk

01792 63 6900 or ict.servicedesk@swansea.gov.uk.

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Bookmark 12

1                    The Authority will arrange or inform Councillors of training opportunities which will include Courses, Seminars, Conferences, Induction Training for all Councillors and Other training subject to resources / budgetary availability.

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Bookmark 13

1                    The Authority will pay a reasonable charge for surgery hire, following prior agreement from the Head of Democratic Services.

2                    Invoices for surgeries should then be forwarded to the DS Team on a monthly or quarterly basis and by the end of March of the relevant financial year for processing.

3                    Surgery Posters can be printed indicating surgery details for distribution within the electoral ward.

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Bookmark 14

1                    Councillors are advised to take advantage of the “About You” section on the Council’s website as it allows an opportunity for you to highlight your interests etc.  Information may be found at www.swansea.gov.uk/councillors.

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Bookmark 15

1                    A Councillor Meeting Room is located in Room 235, Guildhall. The room will accommodate 12-14 people around a table.

2                    Bookings will be allocated on a “first come first served” basis and meeting slots shall be restricted to 2 hours.  Block bookings shall not be permitted unless it is for a purpose such as a regular Political Group Meeting.  The Head of Democratic Services shall operate a reasonable use protocol for the room.

3                    Bookings are to be made by contacting the Democratic Services (DS) Team on 01792 63 6923 or e-mail democracy@swansea.gov.uk.

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Bookmark 16

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