Motion #03
Since Autumn Conference 2022 the workload of ADRC has remained stable.
Membership of Committees
Vita Falbo-Ellis and Ron Medrum resigned from the committee just before Autumn Conference.
Ron remains a volunteer mediator on the network. The committee now comprises:
Paul Beswick (coopted in late 2021)
Clare Bonetree (coopted in early 2022)
Steve Hancox (third one-year term)
Marisa Johnson (sixth one-year term)
Jan King (third one-year term)
Autumn Conference 2021 agreed changes to the constitution which increase the number of committee members to a maximum of seven, and extend the term of service from one year to two, with a maximum of three terms of consecutive service. There have been no fresh elections to the committee since 2021, and we are seeking clarification as to when and how new elections should take place.
We have also actively sought to coopt two more members, targeting Young Greens in particular, as we lack representation of younger people on the committee. Unfortunately, so far, our efforts have not succeeded. We would like more help from the party in attracting volunteers on the committee.
Admin Arrangements
We continue to share among members of the committee the tasks of coordination. Communications are routed through coordinator@drc.greenparty.org.uk
Paul Beswick has led work to review the Mediation Framework that provides guidelines for mediation work, and the editing of our Standing Orders, to reflect more closely the way we work. Both documents will be made available through Green Spaces.
Referrals
Since Autumn Conference we have dealt with 11 new cases, 6 referrals from Disputes & Complaints Referral Group (DCRG), and 5 self-referrals.
Complaints Summary:
Numbers received in period: 11
Brought forward from previous period: 4
Mediations: 3
Open cases at the time of report: 0
Unfortunately, in the majority of cases we could not secure both parties’ agreement to go ahead with mediation, although often the conversations we held with each party were judged by them to be beneficial.
Regional Network & Training
We continue to hold a list of volunteers prepared to act as mediators, but participation in training/discussion events that we have offered has waned.
Other Work
ADRC contributes to the work of the Code of Conduct working group, and the group looking at improving the culture of the Green Party and the overhaul of the complaints system. There are good working relationships with Green Party Regional Council (GPRC), Dispute and Complaints Referral Group (DCRG), the Complaints’ Manager’s office and Discipline Committee (DC). We also contributed to the work of the Bullying and Harassment sub-committee of the Green Party Executive (GPEX).
We have recently been advised that we have a new member of GPRC acting as a friend to the committee. We thank Martha James for her valuable support in the past and welcome Ash Routh and look forward to working with her.
Approved by and submitted by Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
9th January 2023