Leading Councillor seeks to inspire students

South Norfolk Council is celebrating after one of its Councillors was awarded a Post-Graduate Certificate in Community Governance. Councillor Christopher Kemp, one of two councillors who represents Cringleford, passed the course with flying colours, receiving a merit for his hard work.

Now the 66-year-old is inspiring budding students at Birmingham University where he has been a guest contributor to three Seminars at the Institute of Local Government Studies. Councillor Kemp said:

"I get a huge amount of satisfaction teaching others and am very passionate about my subjects. Having accumulated more than 40 years experience and knowledge, I see myself as having a duty to pass the benefit of this on to others." He also teaches at Norwich City College, where he is a sessional lecturer of Employment Law, which he is more than qualified for, having spent his working life as a solicitor. Councillor Kemp has enjoyed a long and successful career in local government. He was first elected as a Councillor in London at the age of 25 before moving to Norfolk and now has 33 years of public service under his belt. Following in his father’s footsteps, his youngest son William, who graduated from the UEA in 2005, is now one of the youngest Members of South Norfolk Council. In July, Councillor Kemp was made a Doctor of Philosophy by the UEA after 10 years of part-time study on a research project in Legal and Constitutional History.

He said:

"I have been a member of South Norfolk Council since 2003 and have acted as Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee throughout that period. Here in South Norfolk we are regarded as being at the cutting edge of Scrutiny best practice. That reputation is well-earned and it is part of my role as Chairman to protect and develop it." His latest post graduate certificate has resulted in two of his coursework essays on 'Oversight and Scrutiny' being published on the website of the Centre for Public Scrutiny and they are to be included in a book which is about to be published by the University of Birmingham. The book contains 15 of the coursework essays from the first three iterations of the Oversight and Scrutiny module and he is the only student to have both essays published. Looking to the future Councillor Kemp said:

"I am very grateful to South Norfolk Council for sponsoring me on the Birmingham course. By sharing what I learned with my colleagues, officers and members, I can help to improve the service which the Council provides to its communities."

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