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 Vice-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 meeting held on 31 January 2005.

            Resolved – (1) That the minutes of the meeting held on 31 January 2005, be confirmed and signed;

            (2) That further to Minute 27, the Director of Law and Corporate Governance report back on the progress of appointment to the vacancies on the Independent Remuneration Panel; and

            (3) That further to Minute 26, the Director of Law and Corporate Governance request the Communications Team to invite local press to the Standards Committee, to raise the profile of ethical standards outside the Council.

See explanatory note below.  Please phone the Committee Officer 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 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".

            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 Item 8 of the Notice of the Meeting on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 15 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act. (Minute 35 refers)

            The Committee considered a report of the Director of Law and Corporate Governance dated 29^th March 2005, setting out a draft response from the Association of Secretaries and Solicitors (ACSES) to the Standards Board consultation in respect of the Code of Conduct for Members and recommending that the Committee consider and agree the Council’s response.

            Resolved – (1) That the Director of Law and Corporate Governance be authorised to respond to the Standards Board Consultation Paper, ‘A Code for the Future’, along the lines of the draft ACSeS response set out in Appendix ‘2’ to the Report, subject to the following amendments:

·              Question 1 – The ten General Principles should be incorporated in the Code and should be extended to any legal, voluntary or community organisation / public body dealing with the Council, and consideration should be given to asking private organisations working with the authority to adopt similar principles.

·              Questions 7 and 8 – The response be amended to reflect Committee’s opinion that criminal activity of a sufficiently serious nature (ie imprisonable) should be able to be taken into account in determining if a Councillor is bringing the authority into disrepute, but in all other respects judgements of ‘disrepute’ should be limited to Councillors acting in their official capacities.

·              Question 12 and 13 – The response be amended to included only the first paragraph to confirm that the Councillors’ duty to report breaches should be removed, and no alternate provision should be included.

·              Question 17 – The response be amended to indicate that it is not necessary for the personal interest test to be narrowed for Members, and there should be no special provisions for prejudicial interests.

·              Questions 18 and 19 – The responses be amended to indicate that the new category of ‘public service interests’ is not supported, and that there should be no exceptions to the requirement for Members to declare interests at meetings, even if logged in a public register.

·              Questions 20 and 21 – The responses be amended to include the Committee’s reservations on ‘public service interests’.

·              Questions 22 and 23 – The response be amended to indicate that members with a prejudicial interest in a matter under discussion at the meeting should not be able to address the meeting before withdrawing, and that there should be no exceptions to this rule.

·              Question 25 – The response be amended to confirm that Members should be required to register membership of private clubs and organisations and that this should not be limited to the authority’s area.

·              Question 26, 27, 28, 29 – The responses be adjusted to confirm that gifts received and declined should be registered publicly, and that the limit should be retained at £25, and that Members should be required to declare a series of gifts from the same source accumulating to £25 or above;  and

         (2) Further to the response to Consultation Question 1 set out above, the Director of Law and Corporate be requested to consult with the Procurement Manager as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

            The Committee considered the report of the Director of Law and Corporate Governance dated 29^th March 2005, updating Members in respect of: i) The work and recommendations of the Standards Ethical Audit Working Group meeting held on 29^th March 2005; ii) the completion of the review of Council Codes and Protocols; iii) the Standards Board Bulletin for March 2005 and; iv) training undertaken by Officers and Members on Standards Committee hearings procedure. 

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

            2) That the work of the Standards Ethical Audit Working Group be noted and the initial outline for the Ethical Audit of the Council set out in the Working Group minutes of 29^th March 2005 be approved, including the need for a further meeting of the Working Group to agree the Audit Programme;

            3) That it be noted that following the review of the Council’s Codes and Protocols no recommendations for change have been received;

            4) That the following Codes and Protocols be reaffirmed: -

-          The Monitoring Officer Protocol

-          Guidance to Councillors on Dealings with the Media

-          The Protocol on Member / Officer Relations ;

            5) That the Director of Law and Corporate Governance be authorised to amend the wording of the Section 4 of the ‘Planning Code of Good Practice’ on receiving presentations from applicants and developers, in consultation with the Chair of Standards Committee and the Chair of Planning Committee, to reflect the LGA Guidance on ‘Members engagement in Planning Matters’.

            6) That the attendance of Mr Mike Compton and Councillors Melanie Duff and Andy Albinson and accompanying officers at the ‘Standards Committee Hearings Training’ on 8 March 2005 be noted and the training be welcomed. 

            The Committee considered a report of the Director of Law and Corporate Governance dated 29^th March 2005 reporting on the outcome of various complaints and investigations including a whistle-blowing complaint, breaches of the Member / Officer Protocol and an informal complaint.

            Resolved – That the report be noted.