Agenda and minutes

Minutes of meeting held on 23^rd May 2008 (previously circulated). 

The Minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd May 2008 were signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 24^th January 2008 were signed by the Chairman, having previously been agreed as a true and accurate record at the meeting held on 23^rd May.

The Monitoring Officer presented a report to enable the Committee to consider investigation, pre-hearing and hearing procedures to apply where the Assessment Sub-Committee has referred a complaint of alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for investigation. In considering the report, Members were also asked to determine arrangements for the Committee to consider reports referred by the Monitoring Officer following local investigation or by an Ethical Standards Officer.

The Committee had previously approved pre-hearing and hearing procedures based on guidance from the Standards Board. However, these procedures required updating in the light of the Standards Committee (England) (Regulations) 2008. New draft procedures were therefore appended to the report for consideration.

Members of the Committee discussed the options put forward in the draft procedures for dealing with Regulation 17 of the Standards Committee (England) (Regulations) 2008. Regulation 17 provides that where a Monitoring Officer refers a report to the Standards Committee under Regulation 14 or 15 (that is, following investigation locally or by an Ethical Standards Officer), the Standards Committee shall convene to consider the report and make one of the following findings:

• that it accepts the Monitoring Officer’s finding of no failure to comply with the Code,
• that the matter should be considered at a hearing of the Standards Committee,

or

• that the matter should be referred to the Adjudication Panel for determination.

Regulation 6 provides that the Standards Committee may appoint sub-committees to deal with its functions under Regulation 17. After consideration, members of the Committee agreed that it would be appropriate to re-convene the Assessment Sub-Committee that originally referred the complaint, to consider the Monitoring Officer’s report in accordance with Regulation 17. When reconvened in this way, it was agreed that the Sub-Committee be referred to as the Assessment (Regulation 17) Sub-Committee, to distinguish from its preliminary assessment function. Members asked that the draft procedures be amended to reflect this.

The Committee asked for further details of how the access to information rules would apply to the Assessment Sub-Committee and the Assessment (Regulation 17) Sub-Committee. The Monitoring Officer explained that the access to information rules would not apply to the Assessment Sub-Committee, meaning that dates of meetings and agenda papers would not be published and the meetings would be held in private. Access to information rules would apply to the Assessment (Regulation 17) Sub-Committee, however, meaning that dates of meeting and the agendas would be published and the meeting would be held in public. In practice, however, the nature of information to be discussed by the Assessment (Regulation 17) Sub-Committee might mean that agenda papers would be likely to be confidential or exempt from public access.

Members raised the issue of a definition for the term “Independent Member” and whether Appendix 1 of the draft procedures, relating to Composition of the Hearing Sub-Committee, made adequate distinction between Independent Members of the Standards Committee and Parish Members. The composition of the Hearing Sub-Committee was considered and agreement reached about its five members, as follows:

• where  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Monitoring Officer presented a report recommending changes to the Publicity Protocol in the light of the new provisions for complaints to be made to the Standards Committee rather than to the Standards Board for England. An amended version of the Protocol was attached to the report.

Resolved:

That the protocol be recommended to the Council Business Committee its approval and adoption.

Members received a report asking the Committee to consider the procedure to be followed for dealing with allegations that a Member has failed to comply with one of the Council’s protocols, which supplement the Code of Conduct.

Resolved:

1. That any allegations of breach of the Council’s protocols continue to be investigated by the Monitoring Officer, with her report then being referred to the Standards Committee (or a Sub-Committee) in accordance with the investigation, pre-hearing and hearing procedures adopted by the Committee for Code of Conduct complaints.

That this procedure be reviewed by the Committee after 12 months.