BABERGH DISTRICT COUNCIL
STANDARDS COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, COUNCIL OFFICES, CORKS LANE, HADLEIGH ON FRIDAY, 11 JULY 2008
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PRESENT: Mr J G Watson Vice Chairman in the Chair
Members |
Co-opted members |
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Mr P K Beer
Mrs S P Clarke
Mr P Jones |
Miss P F Cook
Mr P J Down
Mr R L Feltwell |
Mr R E Kemp and Mr J B Newton were unable to be present.
None declared.
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RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 May 2008 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
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None received.
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None received.
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The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (Paper H64) on clarification obtained from the Standards Board for England (SBE) concerning the above-mentioned regulations, following the Committee’s consideration thereof at its meeting on 15 May 2008 (minute no. 6 refers). The SBE had confirmed that the requirement under Regulation 8 to give written notice to Parish Councils of a meeting of a Standards Committee or Sub-Committee did not apply to meetings of Sub-Committees convened to assess or review a complaint. Further, confirmation had been given that the term “Standards Committee” in Regulation 17 (which dealt with the requirement on the Monitoring Officer to report to the Standards Committee following an investigation) included a Sub-Committee, which meant that it was appropriate for the initial assessments Sub-Committee to receive such a report and to determine the action to be taken as a consequence thereof. The SBE had also indicated that it was appropriate for the assessments Sub-Committee rather than the full Committee to receive a report after 3 months of any decision to take action other than an investigation. In so far as the Council’s arrangements were concerned, this would require expansion of the terms of reference of the Standards (Assessment) Sub-Committee.
RESOLVED
(1) That the remit of the Assessment Sub-Committee be extended to include receiving a report from the Monitoring Officer pursuant to paragraphs 13 and 16 of the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008 following referral of an allegation for investigation or other action, and for the Sub-Committee to make a determination in each case.
(2) That the remit of the Hearings Sub-Committee be extended to include receiving a report from the Monitoring Officer pursuant to paragraph 17 of the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008 following an investigation and to make a determination in respect of that report.
(3) That the terms of reference of the Standards Sub-Committees be further extended to include such additional functions not covered in (1) and (2) above that fall to be considered by such Sub-Committees pursuant to the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008.
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The Committee considered a report (Paper H65) by the Monitoring Officer on a suggested protocol to assist Members in their consideration of when it might be reasonable and in the public interest to release confidential information as allowed for under Paragraph 4 (iv) of the Members’ Code of Conduct. The Protocol, which had been agreed with other Suffolk Monitoring Officers, set out the reasonable requirements of the Council in relation to the matters that a Member should consider, the officers who should be consulted and the steps that should be taken to record the matters taken into consideration when deciding whether or not to disclose confidential information.
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL
(1) That the Confidential Information Protocol at Appendix 1 to Paper H65 be adopted for inclusion within Part 5 of the Constitution and the Director of Corporate Services be authorised to make any ancillary amendments that may be required to the Constitution in connection therewith.
(2) That a copy of the Protocol be circulated to Parish Councils with an invitation to them to consider adopting an appropriately amended document for their own use(s).
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The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (Paper H66) appended to which was a copy of Issue 39 of the latest Standards Board “Bulletin”, which explained the operation of the reporting system under which local authorities had to provide the Standards Board with statistical returns and other details of complaints received under the local complaints systems.
RESOLVED
That the information in Paper H66 be noted.
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The Monitoring Officer presented her report (Paper H67) on recent selected Case Tribunal and Adjudication Panel Appeals Tribunal decisions.
RESOLVED
That the information in Paper H67 be noted.
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The Committee received a report (Paper H68) from the Monitoring Officer containing details of interests and gifts declared by Members and officers during the period from March to June 2008. The report also included a schedule containing the statistical information concerning the local complaints system that the Committee was required to submit to the Standards Board on a quarterly basis.
RESOLVED
That the information in Paper H68 be noted.
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The Committee discussed ways of encouraging the attendance at future training sessions of Parish and Town Councillors who had not so far received training in the revised Members’ Code of Conduct. These included the design of the sessions themselves, publicity through the Suffolk Association of Local Councils and the potential involvement of the local district councillor(s).
RESOLVED
That the Monitoring Officer be asked to develop a further training programme for Members of Parish and Town Councils for implementation later in the year.
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The business of the meeting was concluded at 10.50 a.m.
Chairman
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