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BABERGH DISTRICT COUNCIL
STANDARDS COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE HELD IN COMMITTEE ROOM 1, COUNCIL OFFICES, CORKS LANE, HADLEIGH ON FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER 2006
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PRESENT: |
Members
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Co-opted Members |
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Mrs S P Clarke (In the chair)
Mr N H J Irwin |
Mr J Newton
Mr B Riley
Mrs J M Cole
Miss P F Cook |
Mr R E Kemp and Mr N A Ridley were unable to attend the meeting.
23 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
None received.
24 MINUTES
RESOLVED
That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 July 2006 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
25 PETITIONS
None received.
26 QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS
None received.
27 MEMBERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT CASE REPORTS
The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (Paper F112) which updated Members on recent case reports arising from investigations of alleged breaches of the Members’ Code of Conduct. The report highlighted any relevant court cases and findings of the Adjudication Panel of the Standards Board for England along with significant local determinations. Members commented that it may be useful to include further details of each case in future reports i.e. when and in which district the investigation took place.
Members agreed that the outcome of the cases reported indicated that, even if advice had been received, the onus was on the Councillor to decide whether they had a personal or prejudicial interest in an item, and any breach of the Code did not have to be deliberate to incur a sanction. Indications were also that sanctions may be lighter if a councillor apologised and took responsibility for his/her actions.
The Monitoring Officer reported that the Standards Board had commended these ‘case reports updates’ produced by the Monitoring Officers in Suffolk for Standards Committee members and it proposed to publicise the concept as an example of good practice.
The Monitoring Officer reported on the outcome of the recent case relating to Ken Livingstone and commented that it raised a significant issue over whether the Code of Conduct applies to the private lives of Councillors.
RESOLVED
That the information contained in Paper F112 be noted.
28 REVIEW OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT
The Monitoring Officer reported that the draft regulations containing the new Code of Conduct had not yet been published and the Standards Board had indicated that only part of the revised Code would be subject to re-consultation. It was unclear as to whether the adoption of the new Code should take place before or after the elections in May 2007, but it was agreed that the Committee would require the final regulations by the end of December if the relevant updates to training, the Constitution etc. were to be made available to elected Councillors in May.
RESOLVED
That the position be noted.
29 QUARTERLY MONITORING REPORT
The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (Paper F113) to provide the Committee with the Monitoring Report for the period 1 July 2006 to 30 September 2006.
Members noted that details of ‘gifts and items of hospitality recorded by Officers’ would now be included in the Quarterly Monitoring Report in accordance with recommendations of the Audit Commission.
RESOLVED
That the information contained in Paper F113 be noted.
30 TRAINING FOR TOWN/PARISH COUNCILS
The Monitoring Officer reported that, although discussions with SALC indicated that training for Parish/Town Councillors had slowed down until the new Code of Conduct was issued, she understood that they were still providing an on-going programme of workshops within the area and she would be invited to attend any within Babergh.
The Suffolk Monitoring Officers were aiming to develop a training programme, in conjunction with SALC, that would be made available to all Councillors within a week of the elections in May 2007.
Members agreed that when the guidance leaflet on ‘Standards made simple’ was available it should be included, along with the new Code of Conduct, in the information pack made available to any prospective Councillors prior to the May elections.
Note: Mary Whiting would obtain a copy of a similar guidance leaflet that had been produced by one of the Councils in Cornwall, for information.
RESOLVED
That the position be noted.
31 THE FIFTH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF STANDARDS COMMITTEES
John Newton and Kathryn Saward gave a verbal report on the Annual Assembly of Standards Committees that they had both attended on 16 and 17 October 2006 at the ICC in Birmingham.
The following points were noted:
· It is important to have good procedures in place as 38% of appeals against Standards Committee decisions relate to procedure.
· There is general agreement that Standards Committees will be considering more cases in future and will therefore require further resources, training and advice from the Standards Board.
· Councils may be required to make arrangements with others in the area to deal with the increased workload of Standards Committees.
· Concern had been expressed at the possible introduction of a third category of ‘interest’ for Councillors. A ‘Public Service Interest’ would apply if a Councillor was a member of another body fulfilling a public service interest and Members were of the opinion that this could cause confusion and in some instances mis-understanding with the law relating to bias.
RESOLVED
That the information be noted.
The meeting concluded at 11.20 a.m.
Chairman
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