Issue - meetings

To report back on the decision made by the Council at its meeting on 23rd April 2008 regarding the local assessment regime and to implement the regime accordingly.

The Chairman referred to additional papers which had been circulated prior to the meeting, which set out the decision and recommendations of the Council on 23rd April 2008 on proposed amendments to the operation of the Committee in the light of the recently published Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008.  Unexpected provisions contained within the Regulations had required the original report recommendations to be varied, with the Regulations providing that there had to be a minimum of two parish council representatives on the Standards Committee.  The Council's amendments to the Articles of the Constitution were noted.  It was for the Standards Committee to determine the size, composition and terms of reference of its sub-committees prior to the new local assessment regime coming into force on 8th May 2008. 

Officers advised that separate memberships of the Assessment Sub-Committee and Final Determination Sub-Committee would be best practice, and that they understood the guidance due to be issued by the Standards Board would confirm this to be the case.  The Committee decided that, notwithstanding this advice, it did not wish, as had been proposed, to limit membership of the Final Determination Sub-Committee to five members and extended this to a maximum of seven members (meaning membership of the two Sub-Committees could overlap).  The membership would include a maximum of one Parish Representative, who would have to be present if the subject Member was a parish councillor.  The Committee had, at its previous meeting, discussed the options at length and had agreed that it would wish to review the composition of all sub-committees and the new structure, and whether these were operating effectively, after a 12 month period.  In addition, the Committee was minded that should guidance from the Standards Board be issued in the interim it would be reviewed at an earlier stage what best practice would be, particularly were the guidance to be vociferous in its view on separate sub-committee membership.

RESOLVED that with effect from 8th May 2008:

(a)       three sub-committees be formed to perform the functions of assessment, review of assessment decisions and final determinations; and

(b)       the membership of those sub-committees be as follows:

(i)         Assessment Sub-Committee – 3 Members (1 Independent Member (Chairman), 1 Elected Member, 1 other member who should be a Parish Representative if the subject member is a parish councillor);

(ii)        Review Sub-Committee – 3 Members (1 Independent Member (Chairman), 1 Elected Member, 1 other member who should be a Parish Representative if the subject Member is a parish councillor); and

(iii)       Final Determination Sub-Committee – maximum 7 Members (1 Independent Member (Chairman), 1 Elected Member, 5 other members to include no more that one Parish Representative who must sit if the subject Member is a parish councillor).