8.
MEMBERSHIP
The Committee noted that since the last
meeting Mr Claxton and Mrs Harding had been reappointed to the Committee, Mr
Coburn had resigned, and that Mrs Jarman had been appointed as 2nd
Deputy.
9.
ELECTION
OF CHAIRMAN
RESOLVED
:
THAT Mr B Claxton be appointed Chairman of
the Committee.
10.
MINUTES
RESOLVED :
THAT the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 June 2003 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.
11.
ELECTION
OF VICE CHAIRMAN
RESOLVED :
THAT in the absence of a number of
Independent Members this item be deferred to the next meeting of the Committee.
12.
SUMMARY
OF COMPLAINTS SUBMITTED TO THE STANDARDS BOARD OF ENGLAND
The Committee considered a report from the Monitoring Officer summarizing the position with regard to complaints submitted to the Standards Board for England.
During this item it was
RESOLVED :
THAT under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business namely Minute item no. 12 on the grounds that there is likely to be disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.
The Monitoring Officer further updated the Committee on other complaints submitted to the Standards Board of England.
The press and public were re-admitted to the meeting.
RESOLVED :
THAT the position be noted.
13. PROGRESS ON ETHICAL AUDIT
The Committee considered a report by the Monitoring Officer setting out the progress made by the Working Group on the Ethical Audit of the Isle of Wight Council. The Working Group had made a number of recommendations concerning the quorum of the Standards Committee and to assist the planned technical review of the consultation during the winter 2003/04. Further recommendations were also made on the continued methodology for the work of the Working Group.
With regard to the recommendation for the quorum of the Committee it was suggested that the final wording should include reference to at least one of the quorum being an Independent member.
RESOLVED :
(a) THAT during the technical review of the constitution during the winter of 2003/04 the Council and the Monitoring Officer consider the following:
|
1. |
Key constitutional documents, including all of
those identified as being Category 3 in this review should be brought
together in a single document or organised in a coherent and cross-referenced
fashion. The revised document to
include a single index identifying when each document was last updated and
when planned for review. This
information should be replicated as footers to all locally produced
documents, a useful model is contained in the current confidential reporting
procedure. |
|
2. |
All the existing locally produced documents
require updating/refreshing to reflect changes in personnel/job titles,
Council structures and legislation – where possible future-proofing by
removing references to names. |
|
3. |
Accessibility will be encouraged by a
consistent numbering regime which works in both electronic and hard copy
formats. |
|
4. |
The planned review of the constitution should
have as an objective a reduction in the current number of procedure rules and
protocols and, as a second objective, to be shorter and to avoid some of the
existing repetition. |
(b) THAT the interim recommendations as set out in paragraph 12 of the report be approved.
(c) THAT the current Working Group continues to deliver the existing methodology, as set out in paragraphs 14 and 15 of the report.
(d) THAT a further interim report is brought to the next meeting of the Standards Committee.
RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO FULL COUNCIL
THAT Article 9 of the Constitution is amended to
add after the words “Parish Councils”: “EXCEPT:
(i)
When determining
complaints against members of the Isle of Wight Council referred by an Ethical
Standards Officer when the quorum will be any 3 members, one of whom must be an
independent member; or
(ii) When determining complaints against a Parish or Town Councillor referred by an Ethical Standards Officer when the quorum will be 3 members, one of whom must be an independent member, including the representative of the Isle of Wight Association of Town and Parish Councils (or their deputy).”
14. DETERMINATION BY THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE AND PAYMENT OF ALLOWANCES DURING ANY PERIOD OF SUSPENSION
The Committee considered a report from the Monitoring Officer on the issue of the payment of allowances to a member should the Standards Committee decide to suspend the Councillor under the local determination procedure.
The proposal had been prepared following guidance from the Standards Board and would be a recommended to the Council when it considered the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel.
RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO THE COUNCIL :
THAT the following be included
within the Members Allowances Scheme:
“That the payment of any allowances to a Member may be suspended by the Standards Committee as part of the sanction in connection with its determination of a complaint against a Member. Provided that no suspension of allowances shall exceed the period of suspension of that Member’s access to the resources of the Council.”
15. STANDARDS BOARD BULLETINS
In addition to Bulletins 11 and 12 that had been circulated the Committee also received a copy of Bulletin 13 that had been received since the dispatch of the agenda.
RESOLVED :
THAT in future bulletins from the Standards Board be circulated as they are received.
16. WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE COMING YEAR
The Committee considered its work programme for 2004 onwards and agreed some changes as reflected below.
RESOLVED :
THAT the dates of future meetings and the work programme of the Committee be as follows:
Meeting |
Agenda Item |
|
18 February 2004 ay 9.30 am |
· Update on the Ethical Audit of the Isle of Wight Council · Methodology for review of ethics and probity in Parish/Town Council context. · Procedure for dealing with referrals to the Standards Committee under Section 66. · Annual Report · Appointment of Vice Chairman · Independents Members Forum |
|
23 June 2004 at 9.30 am |
· Report on Review of ethics and probity in Parish/Town Council context. · Report on Ethical Audit of the Isle of Wight Council |
|
19 October 2004 at 9.30 am |
· Work programme for calendar year 2005. |
|
Standing items |
· Report on Standards Board activity including guidance; statistics; analysis; case reports. · The Committee’s Work Programme |
|
Other meetings as necessary |
· Allegations referred by the Standards Board for England and Wales for local determination. · Requests for dispensations. · Urgent ethical and probity issues as they arise. |
CHAIRMAN