The political landscape
Councillor roles, the political system and reorganisation.
Three hours on the political landscape officers work within: councillors' roles and hats, the Nolan Principles, political groups and the changing tiers of government.
- Level
- Focus
- Learning time
- 3 hours
- Where
- Working in a Political Environment
- Price
- £69
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion, or Certificate of Completion and Assessment with a short assessment
Overview and Outcomes.
Who It's For
Council officers building political awareness in England and Wales
Overview
Officers often work from a partial picture of what councillors do and of the system around them. The political landscape fills that picture in. It sets out the councillor's role, formal positions, informal hats and lifecycle, and the Nolan Principles with the codes that make them work. It then reads the political system through competing agendas, Mendelow's power-interest matrix, political groups and Baddeley and James's owl, fox, donkey or sheep. The view widens to the tiers of government in England and Wales, devolved and reserved powers, combined authorities and mayors, and why reorganisation in England is paused rather than cancelled.
Aims
This programme aims to develop officers' political awareness, giving them an accurate picture of councillors' roles, the groups and agendas around them and the changing shape of government in England and Wales, so they can give confident, correct advice and work steadily through genuine uncertainty.
In summary, you will be able to:
- Explain the councillor's roles, lifecycle and ethical framework, including the Nolan Principles and the codes and standards that support them.
- Use Mendelow's matrix and Baddeley and James's model to read the power, interests and behaviour within a political system.
- Distinguish the responsibilities of each tier of government in England and Wales and plan how to work steadily through reorganisation.
What you'll develop
Through this Focus course, you will build the ability to:
- Describe the four dimensions of a councillor's role, representative, decision maker, community leader and case worker, and explain why they pull in different directions.
- Identify which hat a councillor is wearing and where they sit on the lifecycle, and adjust your briefing and support accordingly.
- Use Mendelow's power-interest matrix to map the stakeholders around a decision and decide who to brief first, and how.
- Explain what a political group does, what it shows and hides, and why evidence presented as a challenge rarely changes its mind.
- Describe the tiers of government in England and in Wales and explain how the Senedd changes the shape of the Welsh system.
- Describe the types of local authority in England and explain what a combined authority and its mayor can and cannot do.
Built from 2 parts.
3 hours of learning.
- 01The many hats of a councillorCouncillor roles and the local political systemBitesize2 modules
- 02The bigger political pictureNational politics and local government reformBitesize2 modules
Keep going.
Part of the Working in a Political Environment topic, also sold whole as Politically savvy.
Go deeper, and pay only the difference
- You are hereFocus, 3 hours, £69
- The whole topicExplore, Politically savvy, 6 hours 30 minutes, £129. Already own the Focus? You pay £60.
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Prices per person. Read the full terms
Also part of: Serving your community well