Issue - meetings

To consider the recommendations from the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 14^th June 2007

(Members are asked to bring their copies of the Standards Committee agenda to the Council meeting)

NEW CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS

RESOLVED:

(a)    that, subject to the amendments set out in (b) below, the Model Code of Conduct be adopted with effect from 19th July 2007; and

(b)    that the following local amendments be made to the Code:

(i)         (in order to ensure that officers were not compromised or were not seen to be compromised), an extra clause be added to form Paragraph 3(e), as follows:

“No Member shall provide, or offer to provide, a reference for any candidate for employment or promotion with the Authority”;

(ii)        (to cut out the possibility of a loophole), Paragraph 6 be re-drafted to read as follows:

“(b) must not, when using or authorising the use of resources of, or under the control of, the Authority . . . .”

(iii)       the drafting of the Model requires Members to have regard only to the advice of the Section 151 Officer or the Monitoring Officer, but does not require Members to have regard to the advice of other professional officers such as Planning Officers) therefore, Paragraph 7 be re-drafted to read as follows:

“When reaching decisions on any matter you must have regard to any relevant advice provided by your Authority’s officers, and in particular by (i) your Authority’s Chief Finance Officer; (ii) your Authority’s Monitoring Officer; or (iii) the Chief Legal Officer”; and

(iv)       (to ensure openness and transparency at all times, and to gain the confidence of the public in the robustness of decision-making) that  the need to declare personal and prejudicial interests be applied to all meetings, including informal meetings, by revising the wording of Paragraph 1(4) of Paragraphs 9 to 12 to insert the following additional clause:

“(d) Any other meeting at which you are conducting the business of your Authority or are acting, claiming to act, or giving the impression that you are acting as a representative of your Authority”.