Agenda and minutes

Councillor Biggs for Councillor Barnes.

The Chairman welcomed Warndon Parish Councillor Dave Carney, who was attending his first meeting having been appointed by the Parish Council to replace Richard Manser.

Roger Knight and Alan Tidy both declared an interest in respect of item 39 (Reports of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman) as they may know one of the parties to one of the complaints.

None.

Of the meeting held on 13^th November 2019 to be approved and signed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th November 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

That the Committee note the report.

The Monitoring Officer reported that the revised Code of Conduct, which was endorsed by the Committee at the last meeting, would be recommended for adoption by the Council at its meeting on 24^th March 2020. A number of the other Worcester authorities had already adopted it.

Meanwhile, the LGA had provided an update and timetable for the national review. The timetable suggested that a new national code will be consulted on and launched by the LGA by the end of June. The consultation was due to be launched on 16^th March and close on 24^th April. Monitoring Officers would be sent the draft consultation for comments. It was proposed that a special meeting of Standards Committee be convened during the month of April. The plan was to circulate the consultation to all Councillors inviting comments as well as briefing Group Leaders individually. This feedback can then incorporated into the Council’s consultation response, which will be considered by the Standards Committee before it is submitted.

In the ensuing discussion, Members commented that the final LGA code might be different from the pan-Worcestershire Code and therefore training for all Members on the new code will be important. 

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

1.    note the report; and

2.    agree to hold a special meeting to consider the Council’s response to the consultation.

To advise the Committee of any complaints made under the Members’ Code of Conduct.

The Monitoring Officer informed the Committee that, since the last meeting, three complaints have been received. Before making a decision in relation to each complaint, the Monitoring Officer consulted with one of the Independent Persons from the pool appointed to consider complaints. A summary of the outcomes and/or current status was as follows:

Complaint 1: no action

Complaint 2: informal resolution recommended

Complaint 3: currently being assessed.

In response to a question about the nature of the informal resolution, the Monitoring Officer explained that this involved exchanges with both the parties to explain why complaint made and what can be done to avoid it recurring. If one of the parties proves unwilling to engage then it is possible to refer the matter for further investigation.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note the report.

To review the registers of Members’ and Officers’ gifts and hospitality and register of interests. The registers will be available for inspection from 6.30p.m. onwards, so that Members can have the opportunity to review them either before or at the meeting.

The Committee were given the opportunity to review the registers of Members’ and Officers’ gifts and hospitality and register of interests.

Which in the opinion of the Chairman is of sufficient urgency as to warrant consideration.

Reference was made to reporting back on Outside Bodies, and the procedure that had been agreed by the Committee in March 2019. The Committee were reminded of the process and advised that a reminder about submitting reports will be sent to all representatives in the near future. A summary report of reports received can be submitted to the Committee in due course.

There was a wider discussion about the content of the reports and what value these might have to the Council and partners, particularly for key outside bodies. Stakeholder management and engagement to make partners aware of the Council’s key priorities had been highlighted as an outcome of the recent peer review. This would be a matter for Policy and Resources to consider and the Monitoring Officer will feed the views of this Committee on reports on outside bodies into that report.

The Committee is invited to pass the following resolution:

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of information as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act.

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of information as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act.

Of the meeting held on 13^th November 2019 to be approved and signed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th November 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To advise the Committee of three upheld complaints by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The Committee noted a report from the Monitoring Officer on three upheld complaints by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LG&SCO). The Monitoring Officer advised that the final decision statements had not yet been published by the Ombudsman on their website. The Ombudsman had therefore requested that the reports be considered by the Committee in private.