Agenda item

The Monitoring Officer presented a report concerning the granting of dispensations under the standards regime as set out in the Localism Act 2011.  Members were advised that this was an exceptional report intended to provide Members with a chance to declare any potential interests and to be granted with dispensations to take part in particular decisions at appropriate Council meetings.  An updated copy of Appendix 1 to the report, detailing Individual Member Dispensations, was tabled at the meeting (Also attached at Appendix 1 to these minutes).

During consideration of this report the following matters were among those considered by Members.

·                Dispensations for Parish Councillors were handled through a separate mechanism.

·                Councillor Cooper’s contract with the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and the extent to which this might compromise him in his position as the Council’s representative on the Worcestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC). Was there any answer to this?

·                The extent to which the items listed on Appendix 1 in terms of Individual Member Dispensations matched the content of elected Members’ completed disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) forms.

·                The role of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee in granting individual Member dispensations which was a power that had been delegated to the Committee by Council. 

·                The delays in respect of uploading completed DPI forms onto the Council’s website.  The Monitoring Officer confirmed that these would be made available to view shortly; delays had mainly occurred due to the volume of forms that had been received from both District and Parish Councillors.

·                The requirement for Members to complete a written request in order for the dispensations to take an effect and whether this process could be more efficient. The Monitoring Officer explained that the dispensation system in relation to the budget setting process had worked effectively in previous years.

·                The possible implications of applying the individual Member dispensations requested up until the first meeting of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee meeting in 2019 after the District Council elections.

·                The possibility of reviewing Members’ dispensations on an annual basis.  The Monitoring Officer explained that updates in respect of any changes to appointments to outside bodies mid-way through a term of office would be identified and reported to the Committee on an on-going basis.

It was noted in the report that provision of dispensations concerning the budget, Council Tax and Members’ Allowances was subject to a caveat; that any Member in 2 month’s arrears or more with their Council Tax payments could not participate in any Council meeting concerning the budget.

At Members’ request the following details of the voting were recorded in respect of the continuing validity of Councillor B. T. Cooper’s Individual Member’s Dispensation as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

For the granting of the dispensation: Councillors M. Glass, H. J. Jones, P. L. Thomas and S. A. Webb.

Against the granting of the dispensation: Councillors S. R. Colella, C. Hotham, P. M. McDonald and M. Thompson.

The Chairman advised that he was satisfied that the dispensation was appropriate and made the casting vote in favour of granting the dispensation to Councillor B. T. Cooper.

Councillor P. M. McDonald requested that it be noted in the minutes that he had abstained from voting on resolutions (e) and (f) detailed below.

RESOLVED that

(a)       subject to the caveat detailed above in relation to setting the Budget, the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee grants dispensations under Section 33 (2) of the Localism Act 2011 to allow all Members to participate in and vote at Council and Committee meetings when considering the setting of:

(i)        the Budget;

(ii)       Council Tax; and

(iii)      Members' Allowances.

(b)       The Audit, Standards and Governance Committee grant a dispensation under Section 33 (2) of the Localism Act 2011 to allow Members to address Council and committees in circumstances where a member of the public may elect to speak.

(c)       The Audit, Standards and Governance Committee grants the individual dispensations which are being sought by Members, as detailed in Appendix 1, under section 33 (2) of the Localism Act 2011, to allow those Members to participate in and vote at Council and committee meetings in the individual circumstances detailed.

(d)       the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee grant a dispensation under Section 33 (2) of the Localism Act 2011 to allow Members to participate and vote at Council and committee meetings when considering the adoption of any new or updated Non-Domestic Rates – Discretionary Rate Relief Policy and Guidance affecting properties within the District.

(e)       the dispensations referred to at (a), (b), (c) and (d) above take effect on receipt of a written request from Members for a dispensation and where Members may have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in the matter under consideration, which would otherwise preclude such participation and voting

(f)        the dispensations referred to at (a), (b), (c) and (d) above be valid until the first meeting of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee after the District Council Elections in 2019.