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.

The minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee on 27^th July 2010 and the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee Hearings Panel on 17^th August 2010 are attached for approval.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee on 27^th July 2010 and the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee Hearings Panel on 17^th August 2010, be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

(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 18 refers.)

The Monitoring Officer will report that Mrs Ann Richards has submitted her resignation as a Parish Council Representative on the Committee.  

The Monitoring Officer will update the meeting on a new nomination which has been received from the Wiltshire Association Local Council’s Swindon Area Committee.  This will be considered by Council for approval in due course.

The Monitoring Officer reported that Mrs Ann Richards had submitted her resignation as a Parish Council Representative on the Committee.  The Wiltshire Association Local Council’s Swindon Area Committee had nominated Mr Gerry Eyles of Wroughton Parish Council to the vacancy.  This would be recommended for approval to the next meeting of Full Council.

The Committee has 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 made on 21^st June 2010, regarding Councillor Laurence Williamson of Bolton Council.

As previously requested, the outcome of the decision has been removed from the version circulated with the agenda to enable a full discussion, but will be available to Members at the meeting.

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

            The Committee considered and discussed the decision of the First-Tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber, in respect of Councillor Laurence Williamson of Bolton Council dated 21 June 2010.  The Committee discussed how they would have approached this case, and then noted the outcome of the case following the discussion.

            Resolved - 1) That the Committee note the Case Study Decision, and learning points for its own decision-making practices.

            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 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)                 Media Guidelines for Councillors – The Committee considered updated Media Guidelines, which had been amended by the Head of Communications and Monitoring Officer to take into account representations received by Councillors and Political Groups both at and since the last meeting.  The Committee welcomed the comments.  It was agreed that the revised version was appropriate subject to the deletion of ‘and must ensure the accuracy of the comment’ from paragraph 4.5, and the amendment of paragraph 4.3 to state:

            “Subject to the above, Councillors are free to make whatever comment they may wish, in whatever media they choose, but they must ensure the accuracy of the comment and are advised to clear it with the Group.  Any quotation should make clear whether it is the Councillor’s own view expressed or whether it is expressed on behalf of others”.

b)                 Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy – The Head of Internal Audit had advised that the Council’s Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy and associated documents, including the Whistleblowing Policy and Fraud Response Plan, still reflected current policy and best practice.  An updated version of the documents would be brought back to the next meeting to reflect the requirements of the Bribery Act when published next year. 

c)                  Standards Regime Update – The Committee considered the Bulletin 48 from Standards for England, which set out the role that Standards of England would play until its abolition and the likely timescale involved.  In addition, the Committee discussed the press release from the Department of Communities and Local Government of 20^th September, which indicated that the requirement for Councils to have a Standards Committee and a centrally mandated Code of Conduct would also be abolished, and that there would be new requirements on Councillors to declare interests, and failure to disclose and corruption and abuse of office would attract criminal charges.  The Committee noted that the Monitoring Officer would report further once additional detail on the changes were published. 

d)         Standards in Partnership Action Plan and Standards for England Guidance - Members received the updated local Standards in Partnership Action Plan, including progress in the last six months.  Standards for England had published a Protocol for Partnership Working, and the Committee welcomed this. 

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

            2) That the update Media Guidelines for Councillors, as amended and attached at Minute Appendix ‘1’, be approved.

            3) That the Standards Committee notes the updated Standards In Partnership Action Plan and the Standards for England Partnership Behaviour Protocol, and that the Monitoring Officer be asked to consult with the Swindon Strategic Partnership on the use of the protocol, where appropriate, in order to enhance partnership arrangements.

            The Committee considered an exempt report from 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 by the Committee that several of the Code of Conduct complaints received during the last few years might have been averted by stronger meeting chairing, and therefore it was agreed to all Council committee Chairs should be encouraged to attend the forthcoming chairing skills training.

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

            2) That Monitoring Officer write to all Council Committee Chairs to advise them of the Standards Committee’s advice that all Chairs should seek to attend chairing training.