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.

To receive the minutes of the meetings held on 29^th January and 8^th February 2010.

            Resolved – That the minutes of the meetings of the Standards Committee Hearings Panel held on 29^th January 2010, and the Standards Committee held on 8^th February 2010 be approved.

(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 to in Agenda Item 10 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 37 refers.)

To discuss with the Leader and Chief Executive the Council’s approach to ethical governance, and their key priorities and key areas for action in relation to ethical governance and ensuring that ethical standards are upheld within the Council.

The minute from the last question and answer session held on 19^th January 2009 is attached as an Appendix for information.

            The Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive attended the meeting to discuss the Council's approach to ethical governance, and their key priorities in relation to ensuring that ethical standards are upheld within the Council.  The Council's Annual Return to Standards for England, the last Standards Committee Annual Report and the minute of the last question and answer session were referred to as background to this discussion.

            The Leader and the Chief Executive highlighted the following areas for particular note:

l        That the Intouch values and behaviours were embedded in the organisation in relation to recruitment, performance management, appraisal and exit interviews.  Although a shared Code of Conduct was not yet in place for partners, discussions were ongoing on the adoption of Intouch by other partners and for partnership relationships.  In addition, Capita had mapped its Codes of Conduct onto the Intouch framework for all staff involved in the Swindon partnership.

l        The increase in the use of social networking sites represented new challenges for members and officers on how to respond to individual accusations and for members to consider how to act appropriately. The Standards Committee could look to ensure that local advice was issued to Members to assist them in this new area based upon the guidance issued by Standards for England.

l        The Annual Statement of Internal Control was signed off by Corporate Board, and the Head of Internal Audit reported directly to the Chief Executive to ensure the appropriate level of importance was attached to Audit Reports.

l        The Director of Law and Democratic Services had an open invitation to attend Corporate Board and met with the Chief Executive regularly and had direct access whenever required.  The Monitoring Officer confirmed that this level of access was also true with the Leader of the Council , the Chair of Scrutiny and all other political groups.  

l        The Chief Executive and Leader confirmed that they would be happy to attend the Committee on an annual basis to give assurance of ethical standards in the Council and more regularly at the request of the Committee.

            Resolved – (1) That the Chief Executive and Leader be thanked for attending the Committee and answering the questions of the Committee.

            (2) That the Director of Law and Democratic Services bring back a report to the Committee on any amendments required to the Media Guidelines for Councillors or the Members Code of Conduct, to provide guidance to Members on the appropriate use of social networking sites, enabling political comment while protecting Members from any accusation of breach of the Code of Conduct.  That these amendments be based upon Standards for England Guidance in relation to social networking, and include a recommendation that Members disclose their identity whenever contributing to such sites.

            (3) That the Monitoring Officer include in the induction process for new Members reference to responsible behaviour for Members in relation to use of social networking sites, and the Leaders of the Political Groups be asked to highlight to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

            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)     The Standards for England Annual Return 2010 – The Committee noted the return which had been submitted by the 16^th April 2010 deadline, and which had been circulated in draft to the Committee Members for comment prior to submission. 

b)     Local Standards 2.0 – Proportionality upgrade? - The Committee noted the Standards for England review of the devolved decision-making in respect of standards complaints, including its recommendations to improve and streamline the existing process.  It was appreciated that these recommendations had been made to the Department of Communities and Local Government, but would require legislative reform and depended on the result of the forthcoming general election.  The Committee noted the importance of assessments being quicker, while retaining decisions by several Members of the Committee in addition to the Monitoring Officer.

c)      Local Code of Corporate Governance – The Monitoring Officer was due to consult on any required amendments to the Code.  The Committee recommended that it be updated to include in paragraph 3.14 reference to requiring adherence to ethical standards by the Council's partners and contractors.  The updated Code would come back to a future meeting for final approval following consultation.

d)     Annual Governance Statement – The Committee reviewed and endorsed the arrangements for the preparation of the Annual Governance Statement and the assurance statement questionnaire to be completed by Group Directors and Directors.

e)     Desktop Ethical Audit – The Committee endorsed the updated Desktop Ethical Audit.

f)        Role Definitions for Planning Committee Chair and Members – The Committee had asked that the Planning Committee be consulted on these Codes and now reviewed the changes recommended.

g)     Standards Board Publications / Events – The Committee received the Standards for England Bulletin for February 2010 (Issue 47), which included reference to the new Standards for England Regulatory Statement and new range of Guidance issued, including in relation to Social Networking.  Members noted that the Annual Assembly of Standards Committees would be held on 18^th-19^th October and agreed to advise the Monitoring Officer by the end of May if they wished to attend.

h)      Reference from Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) and Council – Members considered a reference from the IRP for the Committee to consider whether Councillors who are appointed to other bodies on behalf of the Council, should include in their Declarations of Interests the annual amount of allowance paid by those bodies.  The Committee agreed that this was appropriate.

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

            2) That the Authority's Annual Return to Standards for England be noted.

            3) That the 'Local Standards 2.0 – Proportionality upgrade? - A review of the local standards network' issued by Standards for England be noted.

            4)  That it be recommended to the Audit Committee that the Directors’ Assurance Questionnaire and the current process for the preparation of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

At its meeting in May 2009, the Committee requested the opportunity to explore a case study at each meeting to enable members to keep up to date with case law and procedures.  

Attached is an Appeals Tribunal decision from the Adjudication Panel for England made on 17^th November 2009, regarding a case concerning Councillor Peter Jones of Rutland County Council. 

The Monitoring Officer will use this decision as a case study for the Committee to explore.  As previously requested the outcome of the original decision has been removed from the version circulated with the agenda, but will be available to Members at the meeting, following the discussion.

            At the meeting of the Committee held in May 2009, the Committee had requested the opportunity to explore a case study at each meeting, to enable members of the Committee to keep up to date with case law and procedures. 

            The Committee considered and discussed the Appeals Tribunal decision from the Adjudication Panel for England made on 17^th November 2009, regarding a case concerning Councillor Peter Jones of Rutland County Council.

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

            2) That the Director of Law and Democratic Services (Monitoring Officer) continue to bring a case study to each meeting having removed 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 the appointment of a representative of the Business Community to serve on the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) on Councillors Allowances.  The Swindon Strategic Economic Partnership Board had agreed to support the nomination of Mr. John Dernie.  Mr Trevor Davies, together with Mr Stuart Macpherson Chair of the IRP, had met with Mr. Dernie and were happy to support the nomination.

            Resolved – That the appointment of Mr. John Dernie, as representative of the Business Committee to the Independent Remuneration Panel be endorsed.

            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, and Code of Conduct complaints.

            It was noted that a complaint had been received under the Members Code of Conduct since the last meeting of the Committee.  This had been considered by an Assessment Sub-Committee and resulted in 'no further action', and a request for review had not been received.

            It was noted that the local investigation of a complaint reported at the last meeting was nearing completion, and the Committee was asked to confirm that the Monitoring Officer should call a Hearings Panel when required..

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

            2) That the Monitoring Officer call a Hearings Panel when required to hear the outcome of the investigation into Complaint SBC/43/09 to consist of five members of the Standards Committee, excluding those who were part of original Assessment Sub-Committee who referred the complaint for investigation.

The Vice-Chair thanked the Members of the Standards Committee for their work during this year.  The Vice-Chair in particular recognised the significant contribution of Councillor Maurice Fanning to the work of the Committee over many years, and wished him well when he stepped down as a Councillor in May.