Agendas, Minutes and Reports

Contact: David Jellings

Direct Dial: 01275 884219

E-mail: david.jellings@n-somerset.gov.uk

Date: 27th August 2003

Dear Sir or Madam

Standards Committee

Thursday 4th September 2003, 6.00 p.m., Rickford Room, TOWN HALL

A meeting of the Committee will take place as indicated above. The agenda is set out overleaf.

Yours faithfully

Solicitor to the Council

To: Members of the Committee

Councillors:

Ian Parker (Chairman), Nicholas Brown (Vice-Chairman), John Clark, Ian Peddlesden.

Independent Members:

Ms. Elizabeth Lockwood, Mr. Tony Williams.

Parish Councillor Tony Horry.

All other Members of the Council (for information)

AGENDA

1 Apologies for Absence and Notification of Substitutes

2 Public Discussion (Standing Order SSO 9)

To receive and hear any person who wishes to address the Committee. The Chairman will select the order of the matters to be heard.

3 Declarations of Interest by Members

4 Minutes

4.1 Committee Meeting – 10th June 2003, (page 4)

5 Matters referred to the Committee and not dealt with elsewhere on this Agenda.

Executive Meeting

None.

6 The Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) Regulations 2003

6.1 Report of the Solicitor to the Council (page 7)

7 Process for the Election of a Second Town/Parish Council Representative to the Standards Committee

7.1 Report of the Solicitor to the Council (page 11)

8 Other Business Permitted by the Local Government Act 1972 (if any)

For a matter to be considered as an urgent item, the following question must be addressed:

“What harm to the public interest would flow from leaving it until the next meeting?” If harm can be demonstrated, then it is open to the Chairman to rule that it be considered as urgent. Otherwise the matter cannot be considered urgent within the statutory provisions.

____________________________________

EXEMPT ITEMS

Should the Committee wish to consider a matter as an Exempt Item, the Committee will be invited to pass the following resolution –

“(1) That the press, public, and officers not required by the Members, the Chief Executive or the Director, to remain during the exempt session, be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the ground that its consideration will involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Section 100I of the Local Government Act 1972.”

Also, if appropriate, the following resolution should be passed –

“(2) That members of the Council who are not members of this Committee be invited to remain.”

MOBILE PHONES, PAGERS AND SIMILAR CALLING DEVICES

All persons attending this meeting are requested to turn off these devices in accordance with the Council’s statement concerning disturbance caused by such apparatus. The Chairman may approve an exception to this request in special circumstances.

EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

ON HEARING THE ALARM – (a continuous two tone siren)

Leave the room by the nearest exit door. Ensure that windows are closed.

Last person out to close the door.

DO NOT stop to collect personal belongings.

DO NOT use the lifts.

FOLLOW the green and white exit signs and make your way to the assembly point.

DO NOT re-enter the building until authorised to do so by the Fire Authority.

GO TO ASSEMBLY POINT D – THE CAR PARK OPPOSITE MAIN RECEPTION

ITEM 4.1

MINUTES

OF THE MEETING OF THE

Standards Committee

Tuesday 10th June 2003

HELD AT THE TOWN HALL, WESTON-SUPER-MARE, SOMERSET.

Meeting Commenced: 6.00 p.m. Meeting Concluded: 8.15 p.m.

PRESENT:

District Councillors

Councillors Nicholas Brown, John Clark, Ian Parker, and Ian Peddlesden.

Independent Members

Mr. C.R. Williams and Mr. P.W. Barrett.

Parish/Town Council Member

Parish Councillor Tony Horry.

IN ATTENDANCE: Councillor Glyn Duck

STD

Election of Chairman 2003/2004

RESOLVED: that Councillor Ian Parker be elected Chairman of the Standards Committee for the year 2003/2004.

STD

Election of Vice-Chairman 2003/2004

RESOLVED: that Councillor Nicholas Brown be elected Vice-Chairman of the Standards Committee for the year 2003/2004.

STD

Minutes of the Meeting held on 14th April 2003 (Agenda Item 6)

RESOLVED: that the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to the following amendments:

Minute 20 (1), second paragraph – Insert after “parallel policy”, the words “for employees”.

Minute 25, third paragraph, second sentence – Insert after “no significant difference”, the words “in conduct terms between the duty to receive correspondence and the duty to reply”.

Minute 32 – substitute “mentoring” for “monitoring” in the preamble and in Resolution (3), and add to the end of Resolution (1), the words “because the criteria in the regulations were not met”.

STD

Minutes of the Constitution Working Party, 5th June 2003 (Agenda Item 7.1) and Financial Regulations

In accordance with the decision of Council, the Constitution Working Party had met to review certain aspects of the Constitution.

The Working Party had recommended certain changes to the Constitution which were before the Standards Committee for consideration prior to Council on 17th June 2003. The Working Party had also sought a review of the Council’s Financial Regulations, and the intention was for the Director of Finance and Resources to bring forward a report on this matter to the Council.

The Committee considered also a report of the Director of Finance and Resources outlining the potential changes to Financial Regulations. The Chairman ruled that the report be deemed urgent to enable the matter to be considered as part of the review of the Constitution.

The recommendations of the Working Party to the Council were considered together with the matter of appointing a second Parish/Town Council member on the Committee. (The Council on 13th May 2003 had deferred consideration of this matter, to enable it to be considered as part of the review of the Constitution).

Malcolm Nicholson, Solicitor to the Council explained the background to the recommendations on changes to the Constitution, and Jonathan Thompson, Director of Finance and Resources commented specifically on changes to the Financial Regulations. The Committee was informed that there would be further changes necessary to the Financial Regulations, and that the details of those changes would need to be worked out. This would be explained to the Council on 17th June 2003, pending a report to the Executive on 1st July 2003, and recommendations to Council on 22nd July 2003.

Individual Members took the opportunity to comment on the following matters, to which the officers responded as appropriate:-

· Concern regarding the large size of the proposed Children and Young People Policy and Scrutiny Panel which with the elected Members and voting and non-voting Added Members would have a total of 23 Members.

· Some of the Policy and Scrutiny Panels such as Finance and Resources, Housing and Health and Social Care for Adults and Children and Young People appeared to have significantly onerous and large areas of responsibility compared with the comparatively lighter responsibilities of the other Panels.

It was commented that Panels would have the opportunity to make use of Working Parties.

· Arising from (2) above, should there be a sliding scale of allowances paid to Panel Chairmen having regard to the areas of responsibility of the different Panels.

· As a matter of principle, the Chairman of the Standards Committee should not receive an allowance.

· There was agreement with the concern that enhancing of the role of Area Committees with some sort of scrutinising role could exceed the statutory guidance.

· Concern regarding the proposal to amend Financial Regulations by increasing from £100,000 to £250,000 the delegation limit to Executive Members on making a decision with revenue implications.

· It was noted that the review of the Officer/Member protocol and the review of the effectiveness of the Public Participation Procedure were matters which would take longer to deal with.

· If there was to be a second Town/Parish Council member on the Standards Committee, one of the two members should be a Parish Councillor, and the other a Town Councillor. The Committee should review the election process.

The Committee commented specifically and reached a consensus on the following matters for report on to the Council:

(1) The minimum number of Members on Policy and Scrutiny Panels should be eight.

(2) The Members’ Allowances Panel to meet as a matter of urgency to consider and make recommendations on Members’ allowances in the light of the proposed introduction of seven Policy and Scrutiny Panels.

(3) that in respect of recommendation (13) regarding advance written questions and question time at Council meetings, the word “brief” should be deleted as it is considered superfluous.

(4) that the Constitution be amended to allow the appointment of a second Parish/Town Council Member to the Standards Committee (if approved by Council, this Committee to review the election process).

RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL: that in considering the recommendations of the Constitution Working Party, the comments of this Standards Committee as set out in as (1), (2), (3) and (4) the preamble above, be taken into account.

________________________________

Chairman

________________________________

NORTH SOMERSET COUNCIL

REPORT OF The Solicitor to the Council TO THE

Standards Committee MEETING ON 4^th SEPTEMBER 2003 ITEM 6.1

MEMBERS NAME:	Fiona Robertson, Solicitor, Democratic Services Manager
SUBJECT:	The Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) Regulations 2003
KEY DECISION:	N0

1. SUMMARY

To inform Members of the Committee about the Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) Regulations 2003 which will affect this Committee and enable it to deal locally with complaints made about councillors who it is alleged have broken the Code of Conduct.

2 RECOMMENDATIONS

To note the report

3 PROPORTIONALITY ISSUES

4 HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

5 FUNDING IMPLICATIONS

	Approved Budget	Extra Bid?	Recurring/Base Budget?
Revenue
Capital

6 OTHER/RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

Legal	Crime & Disorder	Health & Safety	Equal Opportunities	Trades Unions	Youth Voice	Other
Y

7 COMMUNITY IMPACT

Corporate	Environment	Lifelong Learning	Health & Welfare	Prosperity
Y

8 POLICY IMPLICATIONS (if any)

9 SCOPE OF THE REGULATIONS

The Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) Regulations 2003 came into force on 30^th June 2003 and they explain how Local Authorities Standards Committees can deal with matters referred to them by the Ethical Standards officer of the Standards Board for England.

Before these regulations were passed there was no subordinated legislation to permit Local Authority Standards Committees from dealing with matters and everything had to be undertaken by the Standards Board for England. The Ethical Standards Officer is an employee of the Standards Board for England and is the person to whom complaints concerning Councillors ( both Parish and District) and pertaining to their possible non-compliance with the Code of Conduct are referred. The new regulations enable the Ethical Standards Officer, after considering the complaint to refer it to the Standards Committee of the Local Authority of which the Councillor is a Member or the Standards Committee responsible for the Parish Council concerned, for them to deal with the complaint.

10 INITIAL CONTACT

The Regulations detail the procedure to be followed once the Ethical Standards Officer has referred the complaint for local determination. Firstly the Ethical Standards Officer writes to the Monitoring Officer of the authority concerned. The Monitoring Officer is then required to send a copy of any report received from the Ethical Standards officer to the Member the subject of the report and arrange for the Standards Committee to meet to consider the report.

11 STANDARDS COMMITTEE

The Standards Committee must hold a hearing to consider the complaint which must be within three months from when the Monitoring Officer first received the referral. The hearing can not take place until at least 14 days after the copy of the referral receive by the Monitoring Officer has been sent to the Member concerned.

12 THE HEARING

The Standards Committee can determine the procedure to be adopted at the hearing but I would suggest that the Human Rights Act would come into play, as the Member would be entitled to a "fair hearing" similar to a "court hearing so that each side of the complaint can bring forward their position. This is similar to how the authority deals with hearings for controversial Licensing applications and Social Services Complaints Review Panels.

The Regulations themselves state that the member the subject of the hearing is entitled to present evidence in support of his case. The Member is entitled to be represented by a barrister, solicitor or other person with the prior consent of the Standards Committee. The Member is also entitled to make representations at the hearing either orally or in writing, either himself or through his representative.

Witnesses may be called by the Standards Committee as it deems appropriate and the Member concerned may call witnesses although the number of witnesses brought by a Member may be limited by the Committee if it considers the number of witnesses being called by the Member excessive.

If the member fails to attend the hearing of which he has been notified, the Standards Committee can adjourn the hearing or if it is satisfied that there is not a good reason for the failure to attend it can make a determination of the matter in the absence of the Member.

13 FINDINGS OF THE HEARING OF THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE

Following the hearing the Standards Committee can make one of the following findings

1) That the member the subject of the hearing has not failed to comply with the Code of Conduct.

2) That the member concerned has failed to comply with the Code of Conduct but no action needs to be taken by the Committee

3) That the Member has failed to comply with the Code of Conduct and a sanction should be imposed

14 SANCTIONS THAT CAN BE IMPOSED

If the Committee finds that the Member concerned has failed to comply with the Code of Conduct the Standards Committee can impose one of the following sanctions

1) if the Member is no-longer a Member of the authority it shall censure that person

2) If the Member is still a member of the authority it can impose any one of or a combination of the following

i) censure the Member

ii) restrict the Members access to the premises of the authority and the members use of resources of the authority provided that the restriction is proportionate to the nature of the breach and it does not unduly restrict the Member's ability to perform his functions and duties as a Member and the restriction is for a maximum of three months.

iii) partial suspension of the Member for a maximum of three months

iv) partial suspension of the Member for a maximum period of three months or until such time as he submits a written apology or undertakes any training or conciliation specified by the Committee

v) suspension of the member for a maximum period of three months

vi) suspension of the Member for a maximum of three months or until such time as he submits a written apology or undertakes any training or conciliation specified by the Committee.

3) Any sanction imposed by the Committee shall commence immediately it is imposed or the Committee may direct that it shall commence on any date within a period of six moths following its imposition.

4) The Standards Committee shall as soon as reasonably practicable give written notice of the finding to the Member the subject of the finding, the Ethical Standards Officer, the Standards Committee of any other authority concerned, any parish council concerned and the person who made the allegation that gave rise to the complaint

15 PUBLICATION

Apart form the written notification to those mentioned in the last paragraph the Standards Committee is required under the Regulations to publish a notice in one or more newspapers circulating in the area of the authority concerned. The Notice shall state the reasons why the Committee found that the member concerned either failed or did not fail to comply with the Code of Conduct. If the Committee found that the member did not fail to comply with the Code of Conduct the Notice shall not be published if the member concerned so requests.

Otherwise the publication of the notice shall also state the details of the failure to comply with the Code of Conduct and that either no action was taken or the sanction that was taken and the reasons for this decision and that the Member concerned may apply for permission to appeal against the finding of the Committee.

16. APPEALS

Any Member who is the subject of a finding that he has failed to comply with the Code of Conduct may apply for permission to appeal. This request has to be placed in writing and sent to the president of the Adjudication Panel for England. The Regulations also deal with the conduct of the appeal and appeal hearings. Once the outcome of an appeal is known the Appeals Tribunal is required to notify the Standards Committee of the result of the appeal.

17 CONCLUSION

The Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) Regulations 2003 now enable the Standards Committee to deal with matters sent to them via the Ethical Standards Officer of the Standards Board for England. The report sets out the process detailed in the Regulations but further work will be required to establish the exact procedure to be followed at any hearing that will be required.

Contact Officer:

Fiona Robertson, Solicitor, Democratic Services Manager

fiona.robertson@n-somerset.gov.uk

Background Papers

The Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local determination) Regulations 2003

OFFICER:	Solicitor to the Council
OF:	Corporate Services Unit
SUBJECT:	Process for the Election of a Second Town/Parish Council Representative to the Standards Committee
KEY DECISION:	No

Approved Budget

Approved Budget