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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 28 JULY 2006
PRESENT: Members Co-opted Members
Mr N H J Irwin Mr B Riley
Mr R E Kemp Mr J Newton (in the Chair)
Mr N A Ridley Miss P F Cook
Mrs S P Clarke and Mrs J N Cole were unable to attend the meeting
11 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
None received.
12 MINUTES
RESOLVED
That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 April 2006 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
13 PETITIONS
None received.
14 QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS
None received.
15 APPOINTMENT OF MONITORING OFFICER AND DEPUTY MONITORING OFFICER
Kathryn Saward reported that she had been appointed as Monitoring Officer on a temporary basis in September 2005 and this had been made a permanent appointment at the Council meeting held on 20 June 2006. The position of Deputy Monitoring Officer is to be addressed through the Council’s staffing restructure and is anticipated to be Ray Amesbury, but Pauline McBride will continue in the role in the meantime. Council had also agreed that in future the appointment to the role of Monitoring Officer need not be brought to Council, but instead would fall to the Chief Executive or the appropriate Corporate Director.
RESOLVED
That the position be noted.
16 REVIEW OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT
The Monitoring Officer reported that the Standards Board was expected to re-consult on amendments to the Code of Conduct and the consultation paper would be reported to Committee. As a result the amendments to the Code which had been expected later in the year may not be implemented until 2007.
Members were issued with a questionnaire commissioned by the Standards Board relating to the profile and work of Standards Committees and Monitoring Officers.
RESOLVED
That the position be noted.
17 MEMBERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT CASE REPORTS
The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (Paper F60) which updated Members on recent case reports arising from investigations of alleged breaches of the Members’ Code of Conduct.
RESOLVED
That the information contained in Paper F60 be noted.
18 LOCAL STANDARDS HEARING
The Monitoring Officer reported that the Standards Board had referred a Parish Council complaint to the Standards Committee in February 2006. The investigation had been concluded and the report drafted when a further complaint was received against the same Councillor. The Standards Board had requested that both complaints be encompassed in the same report and were aware that this would delay the determination of the original complaint because of the need for further investigation.
If the finalised report concluded that a breach of the Code of Conduct had taken place then Members would be contacted to arrange a hearing date.
The Monitoring Officer updated Members on the complaint in respect of a Councillor of Bentley Parish Council. Since the Committee had agreed on 14 March 2006 that the Councillor had not committed a breach of the Code of Conduct he had resigned from the Parish Council and it had so far been unable to appoint a replacement. The Monitoring Officer had written to the Standards Board suggesting that mediation may be needed and she had also agreed to meet with Bentley Parish Council to discuss the implications of them failing to appoint a replacement.
RESOLVED
That the position be noted.
19 QUARTERLY MONITORING REPORT
The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (Paper F61) to provide the Committee with the Monitoring Report for the period 1 March 2006 to 30 June 2006.
RESOLVED
That the information contained in Paper F61 be noted.
20 TRAINING FOR TOWN/PARISH COUNCILS
The Monitoring Officer reported that since the last meeting of the Standards Committee, four seminars had taken place to provide training on the Code of Conduct for town/parish councillors and parish clerks. The Monitoring Officer undertook a presentation entitled “Probity in Planning” as part of a wider training programme arranged by the Head of Planning (Control) at sessions held on 3, 10, 17 and 25 May. Each session included a questions and answers slot. Evening training was provided at Sudbury Town Hall and Babergh Council Offices and in the afternoon at Stoke-By-Nayland Golf Club and Hotel and at the Holiday Inn in Ipswich.
Of the 171 people who had booked places on the training, 145 attended. 2 District Councillors attended along with a number of parish clerks. In total, there were representatives from 51 of the 76 town/parish councils. Response to the training was mixed, although feedback from the Parish Clerks who had attended was generally positive.
Babergh was also due to host two training sessions on the Code of Conduct on 8 June. The training was arranged by SALC and was to be undertaken by Bruce Laws with attendees paying £5 per head to cover Mr Law’s fee and SALC’s costs. Regrettably, the sessions had to be cancelled due to a lack of interest with only 8 reservations for the morning training and 3 for the afternoon. Countywide workshops were now being arranged by SALC and it would let the Monitoring Officer have the details so that those interested could attend.
RESOLVED
That the position be noted.
21 THE FIFTH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF STANDARDS COMMITTEES
The Monitoring Officer reported that the Annual Standards Conference would be taking place on 16 and 17 October 2006 at the ICC in Birmingham (details were provided in Paper F62). The Council had booked 2 places at the Conference and the Standards Committee needed to nominate 2 attendees.
RESOLVED
That Mrs K Saward and Mr J Newton be appointed to attend the Annual Standards Conference on 16 and 17 October 2006.
22 INDEPENDENT MEMBERS NETWORK
Mr J Newton and Mr B Riley reported that they were both unable to attend the Independent Members Network meeting on 15 June 2006 and so far had not received any minutes from the meeting.
RESOLVED
That the position be noted. Further that the Monitoring Officer be requested to determine when the minutes of the meeting would be finalised.
The meeting concluded at 10.30 a.m.
Note: Following the meeting a guidance DVD produced by the Standards Board, entitled Going Local: Investigations and Hearings, was shown to Members
Chairman
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