Agenda and minutes

Members will be invited to nominate representatives for the position of Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Resolved - That Councillor Steve Weisinger be appointed Vice-Chair of the Standards Committee for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

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 declarations were made.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th January 2020.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th January 2020 be confirmed and signed as a correct record subject to noting that non-councillor attendance had not been included.

For this meeting, any questions must be sent in writing to committeeservices@swindon.gov.uk by no later than 4.00pm on Thursday 9^th July 2020.

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 12 (Minute 11) 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 (Monitoring Officer) presenting the Draft Annual Report for 2019/2020 (a record of the work of the Standards Committee for the period 1^st June 2019 to 31^st May 2020) for the Committee to consider and endorse.

Resolved – (1) That the Draft Standards Committee Annual Report 2019/2020, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be agreed.

(2) That the Chief Legal Officer be authorised to finalise the Annual Report for publication on the Council’s website.

The Committee considered a report from the Chief Legal Officer presenting the draft Work Programme for the 2020/2021 Municipal Year for the Committee to consider and adopt.

Resolved – (1) That the Committee’s draft Work Programme for 2020/2021, as attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be agreed.

(2) That it be noted that the proposed work programme was sufficiently flexible to accommodate any unforeseen matters that might arise in relation to the Council’s Ethical Framework.

The Committee considered a report from the Chief Legal Officer inviting it to: (a) endorse the re-appointment of Mr Keith Strickland as a Lay Representative to the Panel for a period of one year, ending in March 2021, and; (b) review the current frequency of meetings of the Swindon Independent Remuneration Panel, and any subsequent effect to the role profile and level of allowance paid to members of the Panel.

Resolved – (1) That the re-appointment of Mr Keith Strickland as a Lay Representative to the Panel for a period of one year, ending in March 2021, be endorsed.

(2) That the current membership of the Independent Remuneration Panel be noted.

(3) That, subject to Council agreeing the index link for Members’ Allowances for a four-year period (May 2021 to May 2025), the recommendations from the Swindon Independent Remuneration Panel to amend its work programme by moving to a four-yearly review cycle and other changes relating to the frequency / timetable of its meetings, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.

(4) That the current role profile of the Swindon Independent Remuneration Panel Member be unchanged as it remains fit for purpose.

(5) That the current level of allowance paid to the Swindon Independent Remuneration Panel members be unchanged as the level remains appropriate.

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

Dispensations

The Committee noted that no dispensations had been requested by Councillors since its last meeting.

Membership of the Standards Committee

Parish Representatives

The Wiltshire Association of Local Councils Swindon Area Committee had advised that the existing Parish Council representatives on the Standards Committee, Messrs Mike Compton (Blunsdon) and Richard Hailstone (Haydon Wick), were again nominated for membership of the Committee, and they were duly appointed at the Annual General Meeting of the Council on 22^nd May 2020 for a period of one year.

Lay Representatives

Messrs Trevor Davies and David Dawson were duly appointed to the position of Lay Representatives on the Standards Committee at the Annual General Meeting of the Council on 17^th May 2019, for a period of two years ending in May 2021.

Independent Persons

Messrs Paul Morris and Keith Strickland were duly appointed to the position of Independent Persons at the Annual General Meeting of the Council on 18^th May 2018, for a period of four years ending in May 2022. 

Summary of Code of Conduct Complaints

The Committee noted the summary of Code of Conduct complaints, set out in the table at paragraph 3.7 of the report.

Member Training

The Committee considered and noted the record of the training and development events that had taken place during the 2019-20 Municipal Year, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, which included the details of councillor attendance at those events. 

The Committee was advised that work is progressing on the Member Training and Development Programme for the 2020/2021 Municipal Year, which the Member Development Advisory Group will be asked to agree, and that this will be reported to future meetings of this Committee.

The Committee was advised that a number of sessions held for Borough Councillors are also open to Parish Councillors, and these are advertised in the Members Bulletin. The details of parish councillor attendance will be kept and reported to this Committee at future meetings. The Committee also noted that Parish Councillors will be offered planning training specific to them during the 2020/2021 Municipal Year.

Register of Interests

The Committee noted that a reminder had recently been published in the Members Bulletin inviting councillors to review the current copy of their form in the Register. Any responses received are logged and the Register is updated accordingly.

Consideration of any recommended updates to Codes and Protocols

The Committee was reminded that it had considered the Codes and Protocols at its meeting on 27^th January 2020 and, at that time, Haydon Wick Parish Council had requested an extension to the response deadline which the Committee had approved.

The Committee was advised that Haydon Wick Parish Council had since sent in representations regarding the Code of Conduct, the Members Code of Good Planning Practice and the Monitoring Officer Protocol. Considerable changes have been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Committee considered a report from the Chief Legal Officer setting out the draft new Model Code of Conduct being proposed by the Local Government Association (LGA) (in collaboration with the National Association of Local Councils), which might be applied to members of local authorities. The LGA has begun a consultation process across its membership and, as Swindon Borough Council is a member, it has been invited to take part in this consultation. The report also set out how, under Part 2 Article 9.02 of the Constitution, it is a function of the Standards Committee to advise the Council on the adoption or revision of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

The Chief Legal Officer referred to the new membership of this Committee appointed by Council at its meeting on 9^th July 2020, and it was acknowledged that those members had not had an opportunity to thoroughly review the proposals in advance of this meeting. The Chief Legal Officer also referred to the feedback received from some members of the Committee prior to the meeting and thanked those members for their input.  

Resolved – (1) That a meeting be arranged with the Chief Legal Officer prior to the deadline date of 17^th August 2020 for members to attend and discuss their views with regards to the consultation response.

(2) That the Chief Legal Officer be authorised, in consultation with the Chair, to submit the Committee’s final response to the Local Government Association.

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, and the outcome of any completed investigations in relation to these.

The Committee was advised by the Chief Legal Officer that there are no patterns of complaints or conduct that are a matter for concern. The Chief Legal Officer also highlighted that there has been a slight increase in the numbers of whistleblowing cases which helps the Council in addressing the problems raised by the matters concerned.   

The Committee noted that the Standards Assessment Panel had not been convened to consider Code of Conduct complaints due to the Covid-19 situation and that this was not a matter for concern as no time limits are placed on the consideration of complaints. The Clerk advised that membership was being sought for a Panel being convened on 13^th August 2020.  

Resolved – That the Ethical Compliance report be noted.