Agenda and minutes

Members are requested at the start of the meeting to declare any known interests in any matter to be considered, and are reminded that any such interest should also be declared at the start of an item or during any discussion of the matter concerned.

The Chair reminded members of the need to declare known interests in any matters to be considered at the meeting. No declaration were made.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 13 July 2020.

Resolved – That the Minutes of the meeting held on 13^th July 2020 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Please refer to the explanatory notes below.

There were no public questions.

Certain items are expected to include the consideration of exempt information and the Standards Committee is, therefore, recommended to resolve "That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded during the discussion of the matters referred to in the items listed below, on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in the respective paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information".

Resolved - That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded during the discussion of the matters referred to in Agenda Item 7 (Minute 17) on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Committee considered a report from the Chief Legal Officer, which provided an update on the following matters relating to the Ethical Framework and issues of probity in the Council.

Dispensations

The Committee noted that, at its meeting on 7^th November 2016, it had authorised the Monitoring Officer to grant any applications for a dispensation on the subject matter of the Budget and Council Tax matters for a four year period, with dispensations being granted in consultation with the Chair of the Standards Committee and reported back to the next available meeting. Also at its meeting on 7^th November 2016, the Committee noted that it had authorised the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Chair of the Standards Committee, to grant applications for urgent dispensations on any subject matter in between meetings of this Committee, with any such dispensations being reported to the next available meeting.

As the period of the dispensations referred to above would shortly expire, and there is still no automatic exemption for Members from having a prejudicial interest in the Budget and Council Tax matters, the Committee agreed to authorise the Monitoring Officer to grant dispensations to Members on the subject matter of the Budget and Council Tax matters, to grant these and any additional applications received until 11^th October 2024, and that any dispensations granted under these conditions be for the maximum period of four years, ending on 11^th October 2024.

The Committee considered and noted that the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Chair of the Standards Committee, will continue to be authorised to grant applications for urgent dispensations on any subject matter in between meetings of this Committee, and that any such dispensations will be reported to the next available meeting. The Committee also asked the Monitoring Officer, where appropriate, to advise the Town and Parish Clerks of the need to arrange similar applications and determination of dispensations in respect of Town and Parish Councillors setting Parish budgets and precepts.

The Committee noted that the Chief Legal Officer had granted dispensations for non-attendance at meetings to Councillors Adorabelle Shaikh and Vera Tomlinson for reasons relating to Coronavirus Covid-19.

Annual Governance Statement

The Committee considered the Annual Governance Statement (AGS), set out in Appendix 2 to the report, which is the formal statement that recognises, records and publishes an authority’s governance arrangements. It was confirmed that the Council has approved and adopted a local code of corporate governance, which is consistent with the principles of the CIPFA/SOLACE Framework for Delivering Good Governance in Local Government. The AGS explained how the Council had complied with the local code along with meeting the requirements of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 in relation to the publication of an annual governance statement.

The Committee noted that Audit Committee, at its meeting on 21^st July 2020, had reviewed the Corporate Management Team and the Council’s Monitoring Officer assessment of any areas of significant governance or internal control issues, and potential areas for inclusion.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Legal Officer regarding the outcome of various ethical compliance matters, including the details of any Whistleblowing cases, breaches of the Member / Officer Protocol, and Code of Conduct complaints received since the last Committee.

Resolved – That the Ethical Compliance report be noted.