MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE HELD AT COUNTY HALL, NEWPORT, ISLE OF WIGHT ON MONDAY, 19 MARCH 2007 COMMENCING AT 6.00 PM

Present :

Mr B Claxton (Chairman), Mr M J Cunningham, Mr R Day, Mrs J Harding, Miss H L Humby, Mr G Hibberd, Mr R Mew, Mr D Russell, Mr M Southwell

Apologies :

Mr K Fagan, Mrs M J Miller, Mrs E Oulton, Mr D L Watson

19. MINUTES

RESOLVED :

THAT the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2007 be approved.

20. REPORTS OF THE INTERIM DIRECTOR OF LEGAL AND DEMOCRATIC SERVICES

(a) Presentation of Staff Survey Results

A copy of the Staff Survey Results was circulated to members before the commencement of the meeting. Although not all matters in the survey were pertinent to the Standards Committee some of the issues raised were relative. There had been a 48% response rate which was perceived as being a very good level of response. Most of the results contained in the survey could be compared with other authorities although there was no comparative information on bullying.

27% of respondents perceived bullying by councillors to be a problem and 22% had the same problem with senior management. It appeared to be staff who had worked for the council for over two years and were over 35 who felt they were being bullied by councillors. There was the possibility that the drive for improved efficiency and the impact of that on staff could make them feel threatened. Members asked what the definition of bullying was and if staff had been given that definition. It was suggested that the definition supplied by ACAS could be helpful and the council should work together towards a common definition.

The Committee was advised that when bullying became a specific issue within the Code of Conduct the Standards Board for England would issue a definition.

It was believed that there was a need to get beneath what the results were saying. Members felt it was important for the council to make clear that bullying by anyone was totally unacceptable. There was some discussion in relation to the Focus Groups that were to be held, members asked how they were to be managed and how quickly they were taking place. They were advised that the Focus Groups were being run by Human Resources.

Members indicated that if there were any specific accusations of bullying, staff may like to approach the members of the Standards Committee who would treat their grievance in complete confidence.

RESOLVED :

(i) THAT the Standards Committee deplore any form of bullying.

(ii) THAT the Interim Director of Legal and Democratic Services be asked to explore the possibility that the Standards Committee act as a conduit alongside the Whistleblowing Policy.

(iii) THAT the Council be asked to formally adopt and publicise the Whistleblowing Policy as approved by the Standards Committee at its meeting held on 27 November 2006.

(iv) THAT a report be brought back to the Standards Committee when the Focus Groups had met and there was more detail and information available.

(b) Ethical Audit by I&DeA

The Committee was told that although a final report had been expected to be available it had not as yet been completed. A copy of the preliminary findings prepared by the Ethical Audit Team was circulated and members were advised that the final report may be different.

The Interim Director of Legal and Democratic Services outlined the Strengths, Areas for Improvement Summary and Key Recommendations. She indicated that the I&DeA offered training on Ethical Governance and believed it should be looked at and used as a vehicle for improving behaviour and also for improving the profile and the importance of the Standards Committee.

Members asked if there would be a follow up from the same team in the future and were advised that as part of the system the same team would return in 12 months and ask the same questions and raise the same issues. The I&DeA normally tried to use the same team of people where possible.

The final report would be circulated to all Standards Committee members when it was available.

RESOLVED :

THAT the report be noted.

(c) Feedback on Training for Parish and Town Councils

Members were advised that the last training session had been arranged to take place in April 2007. It was also noted that the report indicated the Clerk to Sandown Town Council had not attended the training when in fact she had. There was a further training session still to be held in this “round” of training and therefore a more complete record of attendees would be provided at the next meeting of the Committee.

It was suggested that when the new Code of Conduct was approved Town and Parish Councils should be encouraged to attend further training.

RESOLVED :

THAT the report be noted.

(d) Information Report on Content and Progress of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

The Monitoring Officer gave members a broad overview of the provisions in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill relating to ethics and conduct issues.

Part 9 of the Bill, as currently drafted, would directly affect the Standards Committee role and was set out in two chapters. She outlined the main elements of those which related to Written Allegations, Conduct outside Official Capacity, Provision of Information and Miscellaneous provisions.

It was understood that there was the potential for a significant workload for the Standards Committee. A question was raised relating to recruiting additional Independent Members if the workload was to become considerable.

RESOLVED :

THAT the report be noted.

18. UPDATE FROM THE MONITORING OFFICER

The Monitoring Officer indicated that there was one matter currently before the Standards Board for England and it was anticipated that a decision would be available by the next scheduled meeting of the Committee.

19. WORKPLAN

RESOLVED :

THAT a new workplan would be agreed at a later date.

CHAIRMAN