Agenda Item 3
STANDARDS COMMITTEE
Minutes of a meeting of the Standards Committee held on 17 July 2012 in
the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Holt Road, Cromer at 2.00 pm.
Members present:
1.
District
Councillors:
Mr B Hannah
Mr P W Moore
Ms B Palmer
Mr J Savory
Mrs H Thompson
Mr P Williams
Independent
Members:
Mrs M Evans
Mr H Gupta
Mrs A Shirley
Parish Members:
Mr R Barr
Mr M Coates
Officers in
Attendance:
The Interim Monitoring Officer
The Democratic Services Team leader (MH)
The Democratic Services Officer (ED)
TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Mr G Allen, Mr A Bullen and Mr A Nash
2.
APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE –CHAIRMAN
The Interim Monitoring Officer explained that as this was the first meeting of
the Standards Committee under the new regime, Members were requested to
elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year. It was proposed
by Ms B Palmer and seconded by Mr P W Moore that Mrs H Thompson be
elected Chairman. As there were no other nominations it was unanimously
RESOLVED that
Mrs H Thompson be elected Chairman for the ensuing year
It was proposed by Mr J Savory and seconded by Mr B Hannah that Mr P W
Moore be elected Vice-Chairman of the Committee. There being no other
nominations it was unanimously
Standards Committee
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17 July 2012
RESOLVED that
Mr P W Moore be elected Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.
3.
PUBLIC QUESTIONS
None received
.
4.
MINUTES
The Minutes of the Meeting of the Standards Committee held on 08 May 2012
and the Hearing held on 26th June were approved as a correct record.
5.
ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS
There were no items of urgent business.
6.
CO-OPTED MEMBERS
The Monitoring Officer explained that there was no specific provision under
current legislation for a Standards Committee and therefore, any
appointments of elected members should be made in accordance with the
requirements of proportionality. The Committee had the right to co-opt
members to advise and assist and they could take part in the debate but they
had no voting rights. `
The Chairman asked whether the appointment of an Independent Person
would detract from the role of co-opted members. The Monitoring Officer
responded that the role of the Independent Person was specifically to assist
and give views on complaints. They could attend meetings to report and
answer questions. It was anticipated that they would work closely with the
Monitoring Officer.
Mr H Gupta asked whether there was a bar to an Independent Person
appointed by another local authority becoming a co-opted member of this
committee. The Monitoring Officer assured him there was no restriction.
Mrs A Shirley, former Independent Chairman of the Committee was
concerned that there could be more co-opted members than elected
members and suggested that it might be preferable to defer co-option until
after the appointment of an Independent Person. The Monitoring Officer said
that the Committee had the option to do this but if they did wish to co-opt
members today then the appointments could be ratified at Full Council on 25th
July 2012. Mrs Shirley added that the number of independent members had
increased significantly over recent years to deal with the assessment of
complaints and that the new committee may wish to reflect on whether such a
large number was still necessary.
Mr B Hannah said that there should not be a restriction on the number of coopted members. Mr J Savory agreed and said that the experience and
knowledge that co-opted members could bring to the new committee should
be welcomed.
Standards Committee
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17 July 2012
RESOLVED that
the following members be co-opted onto the committee for the ensuing year:
Mr G Allen
Mr R Barr
Mr A Bullen
Mr M Coates
Mrs M Evans
Mr H Gupta
Mr A Nash
Mrs A Shirley
7.
8.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Member(s)
Minute
No.
Item
Interest
Mr P Williams
10
Local Assessment Framework
Cases
Personal and nonpecuniary - is referred
to within the Local
Assessment
Framework cases
PARISH AND DISTRICT MEMBERS’ REGISTER OF INTERESTS AND
OFFICER REGISTER OF GIFTS AND HOSPITALITY
The Registers were open to display and were available for inspection in the
Legal Services area.
9.
NEW STANDARDS REGIME
The Interim Monitoring Officer updated the Committee on progress in
implementing the new regime. He said that the Council was at a similar stage
to other local authorities in the region. The government had acknowledged
that the duty to register interests applied only to the 28 day period following
an election. Despite this, Members were advised to update their register of
interests to include any disclosable pecuniary interests. It was possible that
there would be further amendments to the regime as the Localism Act 2011
gave the Secretary of State extensive powers to make changes. The Interim
Monitoring Officer concluded by saying that a report would be presented to
Full Council on 25th July 2012 addressing the disclosure of interests.
Members discussed the update:
1. The minutes of a recent Standards Hearing were referred to. They
highlighted conflicting advice from two senior officers and a Member
asked whether officers would be covered by the new Code of Conduct.
The Interim Monitoring Officer said that there was nothing in the new
regime that would cover staff conduct. He explained that the reason for
this may be due to the different sanctions that could be applied. Members
would be subject to judgement by their peers, whereas officers’
misconduct would be dealt with through the Council’s disciplinary process.
2. Mr H Gupta requested that the minutes should record the Committee’s
thanks to the former Monitoring Officer, Mr T Ing.
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17 July 2012
10.
LOCAL ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK CASES
The Interim Monitoring Officer updated the Committee on the status of
complaints received. He explained that from 1st July 2012 the process had
switched to the new system. He had sought advice from the Department for
Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and had been informed that
complaints prior to that date remained a breach of the old Code of Conduct
but would be dealt with under the new arrangements. He had written to each
complainant to advise them of the process and warn them of a possible delay.
The Monitoring Officer would filter and assess all complaints received and
could consult with the Independent Person on any complaint if he wished.
Complaints subject to an investigation would be referred to the Standards
Committee with a recommendation from the Monitoring Officer.
Members discussed the report:
1. Mr P Moore asked whether the Committee would continue to deal with
complaints about parish councillors under the new regime. The Interim
Monitoring Officer confirmed that this was the case. He explained that
each parish council had to adopt a Code of Conduct and every allegation
can then only be dealt with under the district council’s arrangements. The
complaint once dealt with will be sent back to the parish council with a
recommendation as to whether the complaint is upheld and what sanction
might be applied to the subject member but ultimately it was up to the
parish council to decide how to respond. The Standards Committee of the
district council no longer had any power of sanction over parish members.
He added that each parish council involved in a complaints case would
receive the views of the Standards Committee and these would be made
public.
2. Mr B Hannah asked whether parish councils were fully aware of the
situation. The Interim Monitoring Officer said that they had been sent
documentation and briefings from NALC. It was not clear whether they
were fully aware of the process. Some parish councils were intending to
oversee their own investigations into complaints; however, it was not clear
whether this was in accordance with the regulations.
3. Mr P Moore commented that many parish councils believed that they had
now opted out of the complaints process, particularly those that had opted
for a different Code of Conduct to the District Council. The Interim
Monitoring Officer said that he envisaged training and possibly briefing
sessions on the procedures as the new system settled in. The Chairman
agreed that training was very important and should be one of the first
things that the new Committee should focus on.
4. Mrs M Evans commented that having chaired a number of Standards
Committee hearings in the past, it was clear that it was important to
provide the right information at the right time to parish councils. The new
Standards Committee could provide an opportunity to provide training for
all parish councils. The Chairman agreed that this was something she
would like to do and that she was prepared to attend parish council
meetings to brief them on the changes. Mr P Williams added that he
thought it was important that a full training regime was open to all parish
councillors, clerks and district councillors.
5. Mrs M Evans said that a recent hearing had highlighted that Development
Committee meetings recorded declarations of interest differently to other
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17 July 2012
meetings and stressed that it was important that they were recorded
clearly and in a standard format.
AGREED
To note the report
The meeting concluded at 14.58 pm
___________
Chairman
Standards Committee
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17 July 2012