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 any known interests in any matters to be considered at the meeting.  No declarations were made.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th July 2009, be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Further to Minute 5, the Monitoring Officer advised that a new Standards for England training DVD was now available on the local assessment of complaints and would be used for a future training session for the Committee.

Further to Minute 9 (2), the Monitoring Officer confirmed that he had considered the timescales involved in the current investigations and was assured that due to the circumstances of each case the time from complaint to investigation and hearing was reasonable, but assured the Committee that complaints would be dealt with with appropriate speed and due process, to avoid Councillors and Parish Councillors having to wait excessively for the outcome of complaints made against them.

(See explanatory note below.  Please phone the Committee Clerk whose name and number appears at the top of this agenda if you need further guidance.)

            No public questions were received during the meeting.

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 public be excluded during the discussion of the matters referred in Agenda Item 9 on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A to the Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information concerned (Minute 17 refers.)

            The Committee considered a report of the Director of Law and Corporate Governance recommending that the Committee approve the revised ‘Swindon Borough Council – Members’ Planning Code of Good Practice’, including amendments made by the Monitoring Officer to reflect the LGA Guidance Note ‘Probity in Planning: the role of councillors and officers dealing with planning matters’ and attaching the LGA ‘Positive Engagement – A Guide for Planning Councillors’ as an appendix. The Monitoring Officer confirmed that the Planning Committee, the Developers Forum, Parish Councils, Borough Councillors and relevant Officers had been consulted on the changes, and consultation responses received had welcomed the amendments.

            Resolved – That the ‘Swindon Borough Council – Members’ Planning Code of Good Practice’ be approved with all amendments and adopted, subject to a typographical correction to the Declarations of Interest flowchart.

            The Committee received a report from the Director of Law and Democratic Services (Monitoring Officer) providing an update of various matters relating to the Ethical Framework including:

a)     Use of Resources Score and Notable Practice - The Committee noted that the Council’s had achieved a Use of Resources score of 3, and in particular the notable practice submission in relation to Standards in Partnership.

b)     Members Code of Conduct – The Monitoring Officer advised that the new Members Code of Conduct was due next month and was expected to take effect from April 2010.

c)      Consultation on Codes and Protocols – The Committee agreed to consult on the Monitoring Officer Protocol, Councillor Role Definitions, Media Guidelines for Councillors and Protocol for Member/Officer Relations as part of their regular review.

d)     Outcomes from the Standards in Partnership Masterclass – The Monitoring Officer advised that he was consulting with the Director of Policy and Performance on a draft action plan arising from the Masterclass, and would report back to the next meeting with an update of ongoing action in relation to standards and probity within each of the partnership relationships.  The Monitoring Officer tabled a Standards in Partnership Protocol from Manchester City Council which had been promoted at the Annual Assembly of Standards Committees and it was agreed the revised action plan should take account of this protocol.

e)     Public Perceptions of Ethics – The Committee noted the outcomes of the two-year research into the public perceptions of ethics carried out by Standards for England, and comparator information collected locally as to the public perceptions of public services in general.

f)        Standards Board Publications – The Committee received the Standards for England Bulletin Issue 45.

g)     Annual Assembly of Standards Committees – The Monitoring Officer reported back on the key messages from the Annual Assembly held on 12-13^th October 2009.  It was noted that all documentation was now published on the website, which could provide a resource for Members and standards committees.

h)      Training Update – The Committee received an update on the training undertaken since the last meeting by Members and Parish Councils in relation to ethical standards.  A list of the number of Parish Clerks and Councillors having received training was included in the agenda.  The Parish Councillors present advised that there had been some confusion providing this information as to whether this should included both training provided by the Monitoring Officer, and sought independently, and therefore it was agreed that clarification be sought from Parish Councils and an updated version provided to the next meeting.

             Resolved – 1) That the Ethical Framework Update be noted;

2) That the Committee welcomes the findings and conclusions of the Audit Commission in relation to the Council’s Governance and Internal Control.

3) That the Monitoring Officer commence the review of the Codes and Protocols listed below, and report back to the next suitable meeting of the Committee following consultation with relevant stakeholders:

§         Monitoring Officer Protocol,

§         Councillor Role Definitions,

§         Media  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

At the meeting of the Committee held in May 2009, the Committee requested the opportunity to explore a case study at meetings, to enable members of the Committee to keep up to date with case law and procedures.   This was an area of good practice highlighted at Rossendale Council as part of their winning submission for the 2009 LGC Awards for Standards and Ethics Good Practice.

Attached is an Appeals Tribunal decision from the Adjudication Panel for England made on 23^rd June 2009, regarding a case concerning Councillor Michael Cox of the London Borough of Hillingdon. 

The Monitoring Officer will use this decision as a case study for the Committee to explore.

            At the meeting of the Committee held in May 2009, the Committee requested the opportunity to explore a case study at meetings, to enable members of the Committee to keep up to date with case law and procedures.   This was an area of good practice highlighted at Rossendale Council as part of their winning submission for the 2009 LGC Awards for Standards and Ethics Good Practice. 

            The Committee considered and discussed the Appeals Tribunal decision from the Adjudication Panel for England made on 23^rd June 2009, regarding a case concerning Councillor Michael Cox of the London Borough of Hillingdon, and how they would have approached this case.

             Resolved that  - 1) The Committee note the Appeal Tribunal Decision as an example of Code of Conduct complaint decision making.

            2) That the Monitoring Officer bring a case study to each meeting, but in future remove the outcomes from the papers in order that the Committee can make its own judgement on how it would deal with such a case.

            The Committee considered a report of the Director of Law and Democratic Services regarding the outcome of various ethical framework compliance matters, including the progress of current whistleblowing complaints, a breach of member /officer protocol, and Code of Conduct complaints.  It was noted that one complaint had been received under the Members Code of Conduct since the last meeting of the Committee, and this had been considered by an Assessment Sub-Committee and resulted in 'no further action'.  One current complete would be considered by a Hearings Panel on 26^th October 2009, a second complete was the subject of an investigation, and the Committee were asked to nominate a hearings panel to be used in the event of the Investigating Officer concluding there had been a breach of the Code.

            Resolved - 1) That the report on the outcome of various ethical framework complaints matters be noted.

            2) That the Hearings Panel of the Standards Committee for the next complaint comprise five members of the Committee, excluding the three members who had sat on Assessment Sub-Committee and referred the complaint for investigation.