Issue - meetings

To consider and make recommendations in relation to the various options for the local filtering of complaints of breaches by Councillors of the Code of Conduct under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, and in relation to any corresponding revisions to the Council's Constitution.

A report detailing the various options for local filtering of complaints of breaches by councillors of the Code of Conduct under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, and which also looked at corresponding revisions to the Council's Constitution, was considered.

Members preferred Option 2 as outlined in the report - Sub-Committees, which it was noted would involve the formation of sub-committees of the Standards Committee.  An initial sub-committee (consisting of one independent member, one elected member and one parish member) would be responsible for filtering complaints, with a second sub-committee (consisting of two independent members, two elected members and one parish member) hearing any final determinations.  The membership of the sub-committees would not be fixed and would remain flexible.  Any reviews of a decision of the filtering sub-committee not to investigate a complaint would be dealt with by a separate review sub-committee, consisting of at least three members who had not sat on the initial filtering sub-committee.  In the event of the review sub-committee deciding that there should be a final determination, any such determinations would be heard by the entire of the Standards Committee.  The quorum of all sub-committees would be three.

In view of the statutory requirement for a parish member to be present whenever a parish matter was being considered, and in order to allow for a reserve parish member if required, it was agreed that the Standards Committee needed to be enlarged to include a third parish member, with all parish members to originate from different parish councils.   A third parish member would also enable the determinations sub-committee to be divided into two should a large number of complaints against councillors be received.  Although all three parish members would have full voting rights when sitting on sub-committees only one parish member would have voting rights on the Standards Committee. 

Members further agreed that the proposed structure should be reviewed in twelve months time to see how this had worked in practice.

RECOMMENDED:

(a)       that, in order to carry out local filtering of complaints of breaches by councillors of the Code of Conduct under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, sub-committees of the Standards Committee be formed (as detailed in the preamble above);

(b)       that any reviews of a decision of the filtering sub-committee not to investigate a complaint be carried out by a review sub-committee consisting of at least three members who had not participated in the original filtering sub-committee;

(c)        that in the event of the review sub-committee deciding that there should be a final determination on the matter which had been the subject of a review, any such determinations be heard by the entire of the Standards Committee;

(d)       that the membership of the Standards Committee be enlarged to include a third parish member, with the three parish members to originate from separate parish councils, and of which only one parish member would have voting rights on the Standards Committee; and

(e)       that the proposed structure be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19