Issue - meetings

[To consider how best to review the Member-Officer Protocol.]

The Committee considered a report on how best to conduct a review of the Council's Member-Officer Protocol ("the Protocol").

There was felt to be insufficient detail contained in the report for the Committee to decide how best to undertake such a review and it was requested that a further report on this be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee.  In particular, it was noted that there was no reference in the Protocol to the Members' Code of Conduct and that there was employment legislation which might impact on this.  It was requested that views on these points be sought from both the political Group Leaders and officers and that any feedback be detailed in the report.  It was further requested that the report set out the position in relation to any impact on the Protocol of the consultation which was currently being undertaken by the Department of Communities and Local Government on a proposed new Code of Conduct for local government employees.

RESOLVED that a further report on the review of the Protocol, in the terms outlined in the preamble above, be submitted to the next meeting of the Standards Committee.