Standards Committee Minutes

28. MINUTES

RESOLVED :

THAT, subject to the second line of Minute No 21 being amended to read: “the hearing of complaints relating to the local codes or matters referred to the”, the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2004 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

29. ETHICAL AUDIT

The Monitoring Officer presented his report on the summary of the completed questionnaire with regards to the Ethical Audit and suggested what further action could be undertaken to complete the audit.

Arising from the questionnaire there seemed to be two themes: 1. that perception lagged behind reality and 2. the need to test with individuals the conclusions and to consider ideas about how to improve the perception.

The Committee generally noted the low level of response from members of the public who had been able to express their views through the Council’s website. It was generally felt that it would be difficult to engage with more members of the public on this particular issue and that in real terms the Council and Councillors did do a lot well and we needed to continue and move on and work with the challenges we faced. It was anticipated that with current progress the ethical view of the Council would change for the better.

With regards to the specific recommendations in the report, it was suggested that the interviews should be conducted by the Chairman, the Monitoring Officer (or his deputy) and one other member of the Committee. It was also suggested that a member of staff and a member of the faith communities should be added to the people to be invited to interview.

RESOLVED :

THAT a representative of the following be invited to interview over the next few months and that these findings be reported back to the next meeting of the Committee :

(a) A member of the public;

(b) The editor of one of the major local news media;

(d) A senior trades union figure;

(e) A representative of the business community;

(f) A representative of the voluntary sector;

(g) A member of staff, and

(h) A member of the faith communities.

30. REVIEW OF PUBLICATION OF MEMBERS’ ATTENDANCE FIGURES

The Monitoring Officer reported that at the last meeting it had been agreed to review the figures, however this had not been possible due to a change of priorities. It was suggested that the publication did meet a need, however they need to be a more reflective period so that any changes would be more efficient and meaningful. It was therefore suggested that the current scheme should continue to run for one or two more occasions before any detailed review.

It was generally concluded that the figures did serve a useful purpose although there was a danger that the headline figure did not necessarily reflect true effort or work by a member. Until such time as a better alternative could be identified, it was accepted that the current scheme should continue to run although there should be an amendment to the production of the figures to delete from the percentage calculation the number of absences from meetings caused by being away on other Council business.

RESOLVED :

(i) THAT the position be noted and the existing scheme, subject to minor amendment detailed below, remain until such time as review is completed;

(ii) THAT, subject to the views of the Group Leaders, the existing form be amended so that the number of absences from meetings when on other Council business be excluded from the percentage headline figure.

29. STATEMENT OF INTERNAL CONTROL

The Monitoring Officer presented his report informing Members about the new requirement for the Local Authority to adopt a Statement of Internal Control. He specifically recommended that the Standards Committee recommends the addition of a reference to the Chairman of the Standards Committee in the assurance of the process.

The Committee welcomed the Statement and agreed the recommendation, however a number of detailed typographical comments were also made to be included in the final version.

RESOLVED :

THAT the Committee notes the draft arrangements for producing a Statement of Internal Control recommends the addition of a reference to the Chairman of the Standards Committee in the assurance process as follows:

“Chairman of Standards Committee – that the Standards Committee has been able to undertaken its planned work programme and has been able to determine any issues referred to it by the Standards Board for England.”

28. MEMBER/OFFICER PROTOCOL

The Monitoring Officer presented to the Committee a proposed revised draft Member/Officer Protocol. Recommended within that replacement of proposed paragraph 6 to reflect the need for officers not to improperly seek to influence decision-making of Members.

The Committee generally welcomed the proposed Protocol, particularly where this dealt with the relationship between officers and Members. It was suggested that this should feature as a high priority amongst the induction for new Members.

A number of detailed typographical amendments were suggested and in particular paragraph 21 should be re-drafted to make it a little clearer and paragraph 22 should include reference to how Members could record any close relationships with officers.

RESOLVED :

THAT, subject to the above comments, the Standards Committee endorse with the replacement of paragraph 6 as follows the attached Member/Officer Protocol :

“Proper, open dialogue between Elected Members and members of staff of all grades and seniority is essential to good governance. In order to ensure that dialogue is mutually respectful, productive and contributes to the effective running of the Council, certain principles should be followed: –

“Officers should never lobby Members or otherwise improperly seek to influence their decision-making, nor should they seek to act for personal rather than professional motives.”

29. MATTERS FROM THE STANDARDS BOARD

The Monitoring Officer drew to the Standards Committee an issue that had recently arisen from the complaint by an Island resident submitted to the Standards Board for England against 16 Members of the Isle of Wight Council alleging that they had not disclosed that they were (or were not) Freemasons. It was noted the Standards Board for England had swiftly concluded that the complaint should not be investigated, however this had still caused some concerns for the 16 Members concerned.

Whilst it was appreciated that these sort of complaints would cause concern, there was little anybody could do about receiving vexatious complaints. However, the Chairman agreed to take this up at the Annual Conference with a view to perhaps seeing if the level of complaints that were rejected by the Standards Board reflected the level rejected by various other complaint procedures.

RESOLVED :

THAT the position be noted.

30. WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE COMING YEAR

The Committee considered its Work Programme for the coming year and suggested that perhaps the meeting should aim to meet six times a year given the nature of the business to be transacted.

RESOLVED :

THAT the Work Programme for the coming year be as follows :

Meeting	Agenda Item
Tuesday 19 October 2004	· Conclusion of Ethical Audit interviews · Methodology for Review of Ethics and Probity in Parish/Town Council Context · Review of Publication of Members Attendance Figures · Review of Planning Protocols · Work Programme for the year 2005
February 2005	· Report on the Review of ethics and probity in Parish/Town Council context. · Review of Terms of Reference · Review of Induction Programme for members following elections in May. · Annual Report
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.

and that additional meetings of the Committee be established so that the Committee meets six times a year.

CHAIRMAN

Mr A C Bartlett and Mr R Mazillius

Meeting

Agenda Item