Agenda and minutes

Councillor Cookson for Councillor Lamb.

None.

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Of the meeting held on 27^th June 2023 to be approved and signed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd June 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

That the Committee considers the report and identifies any improvements it wishes to make to the Council’s current approach to dealing with issues of civility in public debate and personal safety of councillors.

The Committee considered an update report on the current context regarding civility in public life, as well as the personal safety of councillors. The Monitoring Officer presented the report and invited the Committee to consider any improvements it might wish to make to the Council’s current approach to dealing with these issues.

The report covered a number of points, including those set out below.

It explained that, at the last meeting of the Council, a Motion was unanimously agreed to:

1.   actively support the LGA’s Debate Not Hate campaign and their ongoing work on Civility in Public Life. The LGA campaigns aim to raise public awareness of the role of councillors in local communities, encourage healthy debate, and improve the response to and support those in public life facing abuse and intimidation.

2.   ask the Council’s Standards Committee to ensure there are clear reporting and review mechanisms in relation to the abuse, intimidation and public safety of councillors, and that information is shared with other agencies as appropriate so that decisive actions can be taken.

3.   ask the Council’s four Political Group Leaders to show their support of a zero-tolerance approach to abuse of councillors and officers, and their support to promoting respectful debate and civility in public life.

The report noted that City Council Members had participated in a group training event last summer with other Worcestershire local authorities, via two training sessions on Respect and Civility, led by Bethan Evans, a national expert on local authority governance. The report highlighted some of the main issues which had been addressed in the training. Training on the Member Code of Conduct, including the topics of Respect and Civility, as well as social media, will be provided to all Members again after the elections in May.

Reference was made to the role of Political Group Leaders in upholding high standards of ethical conduct, and standing side-by-side each other in calling out bad behaviour.

With regard to personal safety, the Council has procured bespoke face-to-face training for Members from an expert provider and two sessions had been delivered to date, which were well received. A further session was scheduled for June, to supplement the regular online seminars made available by the Local Government Association, and the Council could consider making Personal Safety a mandatory training module for all Members after the May election. Written guidance to Members and model risk assessments for undertaking their duties while protecting their personal safety had been provided previously and these will be re-circulated.

A new overarching Unreasonable Customer Behaviour Policy had been approved by the Personnel and General Purposes Sub-Committee. This Policy covers employees as well as Members and anyone else acting as the Council’s representative when dealing with a Council customer. Members were requested to report any incidents of personal safety or harassment to the Monitoring Officer or Deputy Monitoring Officer.

It was noted that there are confidential mechanisms for sharing information internally about individuals who pose a high risk of harm to themselves or  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

That the Committee:

1.     Considers amendments to the Protocol for Member-Officer Relations, Part 13 of the Council’s Constitution; and

2.     Delegates authority to the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee, to make final amendments to the Protocol, taking account of any views of the Political Group Leaders, and refer a revised version to the Council for approval.

The Sub-Committee considered a report on proposed amendments to the Protocol for Member-Officer Relations, Part 13 of the Council’s Constitution. The Monitoring Officer presented the report and explained that the current Protocol was introduced in 2017 and it would be beneficial for it to be reviewed prior to the new councillor induction and training programme which will commence after the elections in May 2024.

The preferred option was to keep the existing Protocol but expand and update it. A review of other local authority protocols, and comparison with the Local Government Association councillor workbook on this topic, suggested that substantial elements have been omitted in the Worcester City Council version, which would provide a helpful context to frame the rest of the Protocol. Some sections of text from the LGA workbook had been incorporated into the amended Protocol. Meanwhile, some other new sections had been drafted by the Monitoring Officer, based on experiences at the Council since the Protocol was last reviewed. The Monitoring Officer summarised the main issues.

In the ensuing discussion, the following main points were made:

·          The reference to “Statutory Officers” may be confusing and the Monitoring Officer agreed to look at this point with a view to clarifying the wording if necessary.

·          There was a discussion about Member-Member relations, cross-Ward issues and the right to know about matters not directly related to the Member’s own Ward. The Monitoring Officer suggested that these issues could addressed separately by reviewing Part 19 of the Constitution (Councillor’s Duties). A report on this can be brought to a future meeting.

·          A request was made for all Members to be offered an introduction to the committee system as part of the post-May induction programme.

In conclusion, Committee Members expressed support for adopting the amended Protocol. The Monitoring Officer advised that some tidying up of the wording was needed prior to submission to Council for adoption.

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

1.    support the proposed amendments to the Protocol for Member-Officer Relations, Part 13 of the Council’s Constitution; and

2.    agree to delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee, to make final amendments to the Protocol, taking account of any views of the Political Group Leaders, and refer a revised version to the Council for approval.

That the Committee notes 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 in June 2023, 5 complaints had been received, of which 3 related to the same matter and affected 2 Members; the other 2 complaints related to two different Members. Following investigation all 5 complaints had resulted in informal action being taken. There was no common theme to the complaints, which covered Code principles relating to Respect, Lawfulness, Selflessness and Repute.

In addition, during this period, one complaint which had been received in the last period was investigated and referred to a Hearings Sub-Committee for determination. This was a complaint made against Councillor Shafaz Ditta relating to remarks he was alleged to have said to another person in Worcester city centre. The Sub-Committee met on 22 November 2023 and considered the case. Councillor Ditta attended. The Sub-Committee unanimously decided that Councillor Ditta’s remarks were inappropriate and that they had breached the Code principles of Respect and Equalities. The Sub-Committee considered that Councillor Ditta was genuinely sorry for any offence he had caused, but they also noted his lack of engagement in the Standards process leading up to the hearing. The Sub-Committee decided that the outcome of the complaint should be that Councillor Ditta should write a letter of apology to the complainant. As at the date of this report, no letter of apology has been provided.

In the ensuing discussion, a question was raised as to what further action can be considered in the event of non-compliance with a sanction. The Monitoring Officer advised that the Hearings Sub-Committee could be reconvened to consider the fact that Councillor Ditta has not written apology. In broader terms, it may be worthwhile reviewing the Assessment and Investigation Procedure to address what can be done in such circumstances.

There was also a discussion about whether there should be a Sub-Committee meeting to consider every Member complaint submitted to the Monitoring Officer. It was noted that the November meeting of the Committee was cancelled and the Sub-Committee had met in its place. The view was expressed that such an approach may lead to fewer Standards Committees at the expense of more Sub-Committee meetings. The Monitoring Officer noted that cancellation of meetings should wherever possible be avoided. Consideration would need to be given as to whether more meetings is workable administratively, and this could be addressed as part of a future report on the Assessment and Investigation Procedure.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note the report.

That the Standards Committee considers the Annual Review Letter (Appendix 1) of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LG&SCO) for the period covering 1^st April 2022 to 31^st March 2023 for information and comment.

The Committee considered the Annual Review Letter of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for the period covering 1^st April 2022 to 31^st March 2023. The Monitoring Officer presented the report and explained that the two complaints which had resulted in an upheld decision, as referred to in the letter, had been reported to the Committee previously.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note the Annual Review Letter of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for the period covering 1^st April 2022 to 31^st March 2023.

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

The Committee were informed that no reports had been received from the Ombudsman since the last meeting in June 2023.

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.