Agenda and minutes

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Of the meeting held on 7^th March 2023 to be approved and signed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 7^th March 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

That the Committee note any complaints which have received a public report, an upheld decision or where maladministration has been identified by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The Committee received a report on complaints received by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) which have resulted in an upheld decision. The Monitoring Officer presented the report and explained that, since the last meeting, there had been two upheld complaint decisions, one of which had resulted in a public report being issued.

The Monitoring Officers summarised the circumstances surrounding the two complaints and highlighted the learning points from both.

In summary, the first upheld complaint related to a decision by Freedom Leisure to ban a customer from a leisure centre for 12 months. The LGSCO recommended by way of remedies that the Council should ensure the leisure centre has a policy for customer complaints, and should apologise in writing to the customer for the uncertainty caused by failing to have a procedure in place. These recommendations had now been implemented. In addition, the Council had arranged a meeting with the complainant and Freedom Leisure to ensure the former feels welcome to use the facilities once more and to outline the new complaints procedures.

The Monitoring Officer responded to questions and comments from Committee Members on this case. She clarified that the circumstances of the case were quite isolated and the LGSCO had held the Council to a higher standard that a private contractor. There may be a learning point in terms of reviewing the Council’s policy on dealing with unreasonable customer behaviour.

The second upheld complaint was that the Council had delayed an inspection of a privately rented property for health hazards, and then failed to inspect properly. Furthermore, it did not properly update the complainant (Miss X) on the outcome of its inspection. The LGSCO found there was fault by the Council which caused injustice and recommended the following remedies:

•    Apologise to Miss X.

•    Pay Miss X £500 for distress and uncertainty.

•    Write to Miss X to provide an update on the Council’s enforcement investigation from May 2022 to date, including any checks on the progress of works, decisions on whether to take enforcement action and reasons for its decision(s).

•    Amend the Council’s investigation procedure to ensure it takes formal enforcement action upon finding a category 1 hazard in line with the law.

•    Train those staff responsible for housing disrepair complaints on the new process.

Since receiving the Ombudsman’s recommendations, the Council had carried out all but one of the actions, as some details from the complainant were still awaited so that the Council can pay the compensation as prescribed by the Ombudsman.

The Monitoring Officer responded to questions and comments from Committee Members. She advised that this is still a live case. In reply to a question about whether the provisions of the Social Housing Act are applicable to private housing landlords and local authority landlords, Members were advised that a written response will be given.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to note the report.

That the Committee consider the draft Annual Report of the Standards Committee for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

The Committee considered the draft Annual Report of the Standards Committee for the Municipal Year 2022/23. The Monitoring Officer highlighted some of the main points, including the adoption of a revised Code of Conduct for Members by the Council, the Council’s response to a survey about the practicalities of operating ethical standards arrangements under the Localism Act 2011, the review of dispensations granted by the Council to Members in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, complaints regarding the conduct of Councillors and the adoption of a revised procedure for the investigation of complaints, and progress on Member training. The Monitoring Officer responded to questions and comments from Committee Members. The Annual Report will be referred to the full Council for information.

The Chair thanked current and former Committee Members for their contribution during the past year.

RESOLVED: That the Committee approve the draft Annual Report for the Municipal Year 2022/23 and agree to refer it to full Council.

That the Committee note the report.

The Committee received a report from the Monitoring Officer on complaints made under the Members’ Code of Conduct. The Monitoring Officer advised that, since the last meeting of the Committee, 2 complaints had been received and the current status of each was as follows:

Complaint 1: no action;

Complaint 2: will be referred to a Sub-Committee meeting for determination.

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 Chair is of sufficient urgency as to warrant consideration.

None.