The skills and experience of cabinet members are critical to the continuing success and improvement of local councils and the leadership they offer. Development centres are well established for staff in the public and private sectors, but none had previously been developed to help politicians. The Leadership Centre has established the unique Cabinet Development Centre programmes for helping cabinet members assess their individual strengths and weaknesses, look at areas for their own development and also to understand more about the way they work together as a team.

It has been tested with five authorities, Westminster, Bracknell Forest, Kingston upon Thames, Hampshire and West Wiltshire, Bristol and Barnet and was well-received by all of them.

The development centre takes one and a half days, and involves a series of individual and team exercises that reflect different aspects of senior politicians’ roles. The exercises are run by occupational psychologists and experienced political observers, and the purpose is to give participants personal and confidential feedback on their style and performance. Members are also able to give each other feedback and there is opportunity for learning about how they can be more cohesive and effective as a team.