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, 25 JANUARY 2008
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PRESENT: |
Members |
Co-opted Members |
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Mrs S P Clarke (Chairman)
Mr P Jones
Mr R E Kemp |
Miss P F Cook
Mr J B Newton
Mr J G Watson |
Mrs J M Cole and Mr B Riley were unable to be present.
27 - Declaration of Interests
28 - Minutes
29 - To Receive Notification of Petitions in Accordance with Council Procedure
30 - Questions from Members
31 - Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
32 - Meeting of the Suffolk Standards Committee Chairmen and Monitoring Officers
33 - Government Consultation on "Orders and Regulations Relating to the Conduct of Local Authority Members in England"
34 - The Standards Board for England Bulletin (Issue 36)
35- Protocol on Confidential Information
36 - Members Code of Conduct Case Reports
37 - Quarterly Monitoring Report for the Period 1 October to 31 December 2007
38 - Training for Parish Councillors
39 - Date of Next Meeting
27 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
There were no declarations of interests,
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RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the meeting held on 9 November 2008 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
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29 TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF PETITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE NO.13
None received.
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None received.
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The Monitoring Officer presented a report (Paper G180) appraising Members of the changes to the role of standards committees and monitoring officers to be implemented under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, and seeking delegated authority for those additional functions, where necessary.
It was noted that the provisions concerning a new ethical framework were contained in Part 10 of the Act, which was scheduled for implementation on 1 April 2008.
Attention was drawn to the provision in the Act which states that the Standards Committee must be chaired by a person who is neither a councillor nor an officer of the relevant authority.
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL
(1) That the terms of reference for the Standards Committee be extended to include the functions set out in Part 10 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and regulations thereunder, and that the Head of Corporate Services be authorised to make any ancillary amendments to the Constitution as necessitated thereby.
(2) That the general delegation schedule contained in Part 3 of the Constitution be amended so that the Monitoring Officer is authorised in Member Code of Conduct related matters.
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32 MEETING OF THE SUFFOLK STANDARDS COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN AND MONITORING OFFICERS
Members noted that the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Monitoring Officer had attended a meeting on 22 January 2008 with the standards committee chairmen and monitoring officers of other Suffolk authorities, to discuss possible joint working arrangements.
It had become clear that there was little likelihood of achieving a county-wide solution, but there appeared to be good prospects of establishing joint arrangements between pairs of authorities. Discussions had taken place about joint arrangements between Babergh District Council and Mid Suffolk District Council. It was envisaged that every Standards Committee would establish three sub-committees each to carry out one of the following roles:-
(i) Initial assessment of complaints (previously referred to as the local filter).
(ii) Review of a decision not to investigate a complaint (if such a review is requested by
the complainant).
(iii) Hearing of any matter which it is decided merits investigation.
It had been suggested that a Babergh sub-committee might carry out (ii) above on behalf of Mid Suffolk District Council, and vice versa.
It was envisaged that each sub-committee would have three members, one of whom would be an Independent Member. Problems were foreseen because the pool of Independent Members would not be large enough, although there might be some “sharing” of Independent Members between the two authorities.
Officers had drawn attention to the fact that whilst joint committees may be created there is no apparent statutory authority to allow shared arrangements whereby a member could sit on a committee of another authority.
Members were in favour of a joint working arrangement as set out above, subject to the establishment of a proper legal framework. This would require resolution to facilitate the proposed joint arrangements.
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The Monitoring Officer presented a report (Paper G181), the purpose of which was to seek the Committee’s views on the proposals contained within the consultation document entitled “Orders and Regulations Relating to the Conduct of Local Authority Members in England”, and to agree the formulation of a response.
The Monitoring Officer explained that it now seemed impractical to try to draft a joint response on behalf of the Standards Committees in Suffolk, due to the timings of meetings across Suffolk. The recommendation therefore needed to be amended to make it clear that Babergh would submit an individual response.
Members considered the consultation questions set out in Paper G181, and agreed proposed responses.
RESOLVED
That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to submit a response to the DCLG Consultation to reflect the views expressed by the Committee.
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At this point the meeting adjourned for lunch at 12.20pm and resumed at 12.45pm when the following Members were present:-
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Members |
Co-opted Members |
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Mrs S P Clarke (Chairman)
Mr P Jones
Mr R E Kemp |
Miss P F Cook
Mr J B Newton
Mr J G Watson |
The Monitoring Officer presented a report (Paper G182) concerning the December 2007 bulletin from the Standards Board. In the ensuing discussion the following were among the points noted:-
- The anticipated date for introduction of the locally managed framework remained as 1 April 2008. It was also anticipated that on or around this date section 52 of the Local Government Act 2000 would be amended so that paragraph 2(3) of the Code of Conduct would become effective. This stipulated that the code would apply to a Member in their private capacity when convicted of a criminal offence in relation to three obligations as set out in paragraph 5.2 of Paper G182.
- Members agreed that at their next meeting they would consider whether to recommend to Council that the Code of Conduct be amended to make it incumbent upon a Member to inform the Council if he or she were convicted of a criminal offence in their private capacity.
RESOLVED
That the content of Paper G182 be noted.
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35 PROTOCOL ON CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
The Monitoring Officer presented a report (Paper G183) setting out a possible protocol to assist Members in interpretation of the obligations preventing disclosure of confidential information contained within paragraph 4 of the Members Code of Conduct.
It was noted that the Standards Board had issued guidance on paragraph 4 and had recommended that authorities adopt their own policy to assist Members with interpretation of the provision. It was also noted that there were potential financial implications for the Council if, as a consequence of a disclosure of confidential information comprising personal data relating to an individual, there was a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. This could give rise to liability on the Council, as data controller, to pay compensation for any damage caused from a breach of the Act.
Members had a number of concerns about the protocol, and the Monitoring Officer was asked to liaise with other monitoring officers in Suffolk to develop a county-wide approach.
RESOLVED
That consideration of the Protocol on Confidential Information be deferred to a future meeting of the Committee.
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36 MEMBERS CODE OF CONDUCT CASE REPORTS
The Monitoring Officer presented a report (Paper G184), which updated Members on recent investigations conducted by Ethical Standards Officers of the Standards Board and also on a recent court ruling involving Standards issues.
RESOLVED
That the information contained in Paper G184 be noted.
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The Monitoring Officer presented a report (Paper G185) containing details of interests and gifts/hospitality declared by Councillors and Members of staff during the period from 1 October to 31 December 2007.
RESOLVED
That the information contained in Paper G185 be noted.
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38. TRAINING FOR PARISH COUNCILLORS
Members noted that further training for parish councillors would be arranged later in the year.
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39. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
It was agreed to hold an additional meeting of the Committee on Wednesday 26 March 2008.
The business of the meeting was concluded at 1.45 p.m.
Note: The meeting was adjourned for refreshments between 10.55 and 11.05 a.m.
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