Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Debbie Parker-Jones
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Apologies for absence Minutes: An apology was received from Mr. S. Malek, non-voting Deputy Parish Councils' Representative on the Committee and Committee observer. |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: No declarations of interest were received. |
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Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 11th December 2008 were submitted.
RESOLVED that the minutes be approved as a correct record. |
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[To note the final report of the Standards Board for England's Ethical Standards Officer in relation to an allegation against a District/Parish Councillor.] Additional documents: Minutes: Further to a referral from the Standards Assessment Sub-Committee in July 2008, the Committee received, for information only, the final report of the Standards Board for England's Ethical Standards Officer on the outcome of the investigation into an allegation that Councillor Roger Hollingworth had breached both the Alvechurch Parish Council and Bromsgrove District Council Codes of Conduct. It was the finding of the Ethical Standards Officer that there was no evidence of any failure by Councillor Hollingworth to comply with either of the Codes of Conduct in question.
A copy of the Ethical Standards Officer's final report, which was confidential as it contained exempt information in accordance with paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and & 7A of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, appeared later in the agenda, with a copy of the Standards Board's public case summary of the report appearing in the open part of the agenda.
RESOLVED that the Standards Board for England's Ethical Standards Officer's finding of no breach in relation to the allegations against Councillor Hollingworth be noted. |
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Monitoring Officer's Report [To receive a report from the Monitoring Officer on matters of relevance to the Committee.] Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee noted the report of the Monitoring Officer and the following issues were raised:
Member Investigations and Associated Matters
Officers advised of an amendment to the figures detailed in the Local Assessment Statistics table appended to the report, in that of the 15 complaints received since the introduction of local assessment, 8 had resulted in no further action being taken, with 5 having been referred to the Standards Board for England for investigation. The outcomes of all of the Standards Board investigations had now been received, all of which had resulted in a finding of no breach of the Code of Conduct. A report detailing the Standards Board's public case summaries for 2 of the complaints appeared separately in the agenda, with the remaining 3 cases to be reported on at the next meeting of the Committee in May.
The Committee requested that a future breakdown be provided as to the nature of the complaints received. It was also agreed that Sub-Committee decision notices would be copied to all members of the Standards Committee in future in order to keep members updated with complaints.
New Local Performance Indicator - public awareness of the elected Member complaints system
The Monitoring Officer advised of the likelihood, at some point in the future, of the introduction of a national performance indicator relating to public awareness of the elected Member complaints system. In anticipation of this, a new local indicator had been included in the Council's Business Plan on the percentage of people who were aware of the system. The Monitoring Officer detailed existing Council mechanisms which could be utilised in this regard, which would also be useful in publicising the system generally. Articles had appeared in both the local press and the Council's 'Together Bromsgrove' publication, with a future regular slot in Together Bromsgrove to be looked at.
In addition to raising public awareness of the complaints process, positive marketing of both the Members' Code of Conduct and the Standards Committee was felt to be of equal importance; to ensure the public, at both district and parish level, was fully aware of the ethical governance framework in local government. Members suggested that there could be a publicity stand at any relevant Council/community events and that the Worcestershire Hub could be used as a means for promoting the key elements of the ethical framework, with accompanying literature to be drawn up for this.
It was noted that public awareness of the elected Member complaints system was linked to the Review of Local Assessment and Determination of Complaints report at agenda item 9, which would involve the Committee prioritising the various aspects of the work required for the review.
Redditch Borough Council's Standards Committee
The assistance available to Redditch Borough Council's Standards Committee, should a request for such assistance be made to Bromsgrove District Council, was noted.
West Mercia Forum of Independent Members
Ms. Roberts, Mr. Cypher and Mr. Hodgetts provided feedback on the West Mercia Independent Members' Forum meeting which they had attended ... view the full minutes text for item 55. |
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Parish Councils' Representatives' Report [To receive an oral update from the Parish Councils' Representatives on any matters of relevance to the Committee.] Minutes: Mr. Cypher referred to the separate reports which appeared later in the agenda in relation to the establishment of a training programme on ethical governance issues for the parish councils and the terms of office of Parish Councils' Representatives on the Standards Committee, the proposals for which had been considered by and had received support from the Bromsgrove Area Committee of the Worcestershire County Association of Local Councils ('CALC').
RESOLVED that the position be noted. |
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Training Programme for Parish Councils [To consider a report on the establishment of a training programme for the Parish Councils on ethical Governance issues.] Minutes: Consideration was given to a report which proposed the establishment of a training programme for the parish councils on ethical governance issues. It was noted that both the Bromsgrove Area Committee of the Worcestershire County Association of Local Councils ('CALC') and the Parish Councils' Forum had been consulted on the proposal and were in support of this.
The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised that officers would begin rolling out the programme of training to the parishes once the new Members' Code of Conduct had been had been published and the accompanying guidance distributed.
RESOLVED: (a) that the proposal for the establishment of an ethical governance training programme for the parish councils be approved; (b) that the Monitoring Officer be charged with formulating such a training programme, based on the wishes of the parish councils and in accordance with the general terms outlined in the report; (c) that details of the final training programme be referred to the Standards Committee for information; and (d) that authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Chairman of the Standards Committee, to make any necessary changes to the training programme in the light of any significant changes to the Members’ Code of Conduct and/or new guidance/legislation issued in relation to ethical governance. |
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Terms of Office of Parish Councils' Representatives on the Standards Committee [To consider proposals to extend the current terms of office of the Parish Councils' Representatives on the Standards Committee.] Minutes: The Committee considered a report which contained proposals to extend, for the 2009 appointments, the current terms of office of the Parish Councils' Representatives (including the Deputy Parish Councils' Representative) on the Standards Committee, and for a further review of the terms of office of the parish representatives to take place in 2011, in line with the next round of parish council elections.
Mr. Hodgetts and Mr. Cypher, the Parish Councils' Representatives on the Committee, advised that the Bromsgrove Area Committee of the Worcestershire County Association of Local Councils ('CALC') had considered the proposals at its meeting on 4th March 2009 and was in support of these.
RECOMMENDED: (a) that the terms of office of the Parish Councils' Representatives on the Standards Committee for 2009 be extended from one year to two years; and (b) that a further review of the terms of office of the Parish Councils' Representatives be undertaken in 2011, following the next round of parish council elections. |
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Review of Local Assessment and Determination of Complaints [To consider a report on a review of the local assessment and determination of complaints process.] Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered a report on a review of the local assessment and determination of complaints process which had been introduced in May 2008 and for which the Standards Committee had adopted processes and procedures for a trial period of 12 months.
Members agreed the extent and timetable of the review (as per the table appended to these minutes), with a report on the high priority areas to be referred to the May meeting of the Committee.
RESOLVED that the table of items and priorities for the review of local assessment and determination of complaints appended to these minutes be approved. |
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Ombudsman Statistics [To consider a six month update on Ombudsman statistics.] Minutes: Members received a report which provided a six monthly update on Ombudsman statistics.
RESOLVED: (a) that the contents of the report be noted; and (b) that the Committee Work Programme be amended to include two reports on Ombudsman statistics per year as follows: (i) full report in September, to include the annual statistics (final version) and comparison with other neighbouring authorities; and (ii) interim update (based on records maintained by the Senior Solicitor) in February/March. |
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Review of Protocol on Relations between Members [To consider a report on a review of the protocol on Relations between Members.] Additional documents: Minutes: Further to Minute 48/08 of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 11th December 2008, the Committee considered a report which asked whether a recommendation should be made to full Council that the Protocol on Relations between Members be reviewed.
It was noted from the report that the Group Leaders had been consulted on the Protocol and that they generally welcomed the existence of this as it gave a framework within which they could resolve any inter-Member issues in a structured, albeit informal, manner. Members had confirmed that there were a number of instances when they had relied on the Protocol to resolve issues and had found that it had worked.
RESOLVED: (a) that no recommendation be made to full Council that the Protocol on Relations between Members be reviewed; and (b) that the Protocol be looked at by the Standards Committee again in twelve months' time. |
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Review of Member-Officer Protocol [To consider a report on a review of the Member-Officer Protocol.] Additional documents: Minutes: Further to Minute 49/08 of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 11th December 2008, the Committee considered a report which asked whether a recommendation should be made to full Council that the Member-Officer Protocol be reviewed.
The Monitoring Officer advised that the views of the Group Leaders as to the operation and effectiveness of the Protocol had been sought and that the Leaders felt the Protocol to have been well used, with this having been referred to on a frequent basis, and that they would be reluctant to lose this as they were satisfied that the current process worked well. Officer feedback on the Protocol had also been positive, with it being deemed an example of good practice for such a protocol to be in place.
It was noted that some general references in the Protocol were out of date and that officers would therefore need to make a few minor amendments to this.
RESOLVED: (a) that, whilst noting some minor amendments were required to the Member-Officer Protocol, no recommendation be made to full Council that the Protocol be reviewed; and (b) that the Protocol be looked at by the Standards Committee again in twelve months' time. |
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Planning Services Code of Practice [To consider a report on a review of the Planning Services Code of Practice.] Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered a report which recommended that the Council's Planning Services Code of Practice be reviewed and which sought suggestions from Members for areas for consideration for inclusion in the review.
Officers advised that the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors had recently updated the Model Members' Planning Code of Good Practice and that the Council's current Code was out of date.
RECOMMENDED: (a) that a review of the Council's Planning Services Code of Practice be undertaken by the Monitoring Officer in consultation with Group Leaders, the Planning Committee, the Standards Committee and individual Members; and (b) that the scope of the review also include the Planning Committee Procedure Rules contained within the Council's Constitution and the Public Speaking at Planning Committee Meetings guidance leaflet to see whether any aspects of these could be combined. |
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Calendar of Meetings - 2009/10 [To receive a report detailing the Calendar of Meetings for the Committee for the 2009/10 Municipal Year.] Minutes: A report advising of the meeting dates of the Standards Committee for the 2009/10 Municipal Year was submitted.
RESOLVED that the Calendar of Meetings for the Standards Committee for 2009/10 be noted. |
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[To consider the future Work Programme of the Committee.] Minutes: Consideration was given to the Committee's Work Programme.
RESOLVED that, subject to the proposed changes to the Work Programme highlighted in the report, together with the decisions made earlier in the meeting in relation to the Committee's consideration of future reviews of the Protocol on Relations between Members and the Member-Officer Protocol, the Work Programme be approved. |
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Local Government Act 1972 "RESOLVED: that under Section 100 I of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act, as amended, the relevant paragraph(s) of that part, in each case, being as set out below, and that it is in the public interest to do so:-
Minutes: RESOLVED that, under Section 100 I of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, as amended, the relevant paragraphs of that part being as set out below, and that it was in the public interest to do so:
Minute No. Paragraph(s) 67/08 1, 2, 3 & 7A 68/08 7A |
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Standards Board for England Final Report on Alleged Breaches of Parish and District Council Codes of Conduct [To note the Final Report of the Standards Board for England's Ethical Standards Officer in relation to an allegation against a District/Parish Councillor.] Minutes: Further to Minute 54/08 above, the Committee received, for information only, the final report of the Standards Board for England's Ethical Standards Officer on the outcome of the investigation into an allegation that Councillor Roger Hollingworth had breached both the Alvechurch Parish Council and Bromsgrove District Council Codes of Conduct. It was the finding of the Ethical Standards Officer that there was no evidence of any failure by Councillor Hollingworth to comply with either of the Codes of Conduct in question.
In a covering letter which accompanied the Ethical Standards Officer's report the Committee had been invited to comment to the Standards Board on the helpfulness of receiving such reports of investigations, and on anything that might make the reports more useful in the future. The Committee therefore agreed a response in this regard.
RESOLVED: (a) that the Standards Board for England's Ethical Standards Officer's finding of no breach in relation to the allegations against Councillor Hollingworth be noted; and (b) that officers write to the Standards Board with the Committee's views on the helpfulness of the Ethical Standards Officer's final report. |
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Monitoring Officer's Confidential Report [To consider a confidential report of the Monitoring Officer.] Minutes: The Committee received a confidential report of the Monitoring Officer on a matter which was exempt in accordance with paragraph 7A of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, as it contained information which was subject to an obligation of confidentiality.
RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted. |
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Review of Local Assessment - agreed items & priorities from 31.03.09 Standards Committee |