Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Committee is asked to note that forthcoming legislation will make it mandatory to have an independent member as Chairman.  For decision.

Councillor RF Bryant, seconded by Mr M Farrar, proposed Mr D Gilbertson and Councillor Mrs CA Hunt, seconded by Mr D Kelleway, proposed Councillor A Riley.  Mr Gilbertson and Councillor Riley left the room.  A vote was held and it was

In light of the coming requirement for an independent Chairman, the Committee may wish to consider whether it is also necessary to have an independent Vice-Chairman, who can undertake the Chairman’s responsibilities in the Chairman’s absence.  For decision.

The Chairman asked that it be noted that he would not be taking part in any debate of this item.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer explained that the possibility of an independent Vice-Chairman as Chairman had arisen from a training course she had attended in July 2006, at which the forthcoming legislation was discussed.  A White Paper was due for publication in October 2007, becoming statute at the start of 2008.  Local authorities might receive by 2007 amendments to existing regulations requiring an independent member as Chairman and the Committee was asked whether an independent member should therefore serve as Vice-Chairman to be able to undertake the Chairman’s responsibilities as required.

The issue met with mixed response and, in light of the absence of Mr P Brindle, the other independent member, and of the length of time before the new requirements were expected, a vote was held and with the majority in favour it was

The Chairman appointed Councillor Mrs VM Trueman, Standards Committee Vice-Chairman during the 2005/06 municipal year, acting Vice-Chairman of the meeting.

New and returning members of Standards Committee introduced themselves.

The Chairman will comment upon procedural matters regarding declarations of interest.

The Chairman reminded members of the Standards Committee of Counsel’s opinion on declaration of personal, prejudicial, and personal and prejudicial interests.  He drew the Committee’s attention to their role as guardians of ethical standards and probity in South Cambridgeshire and expressed his hope that all were aware of the requirement to be, and to be seen to be, adhering to the Code of Conduct.

The following interests were declared:

To authorise the Chairman to sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 10 May 2006 as a correct record.

The Chairman was authorised to sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 10 May 2006.

To receive any feedback from parish councils / meetings on the Chairman’s letter (attached). 

The Committee is asked to consider whether to include a standing item on future agendas inviting the parish members to raise issues put to them by parish councils and meetings.  For decision.

Letter from the Standards Committee Chairman

The Committee, at its 10 May 2006 meeting, had agreed that the Chairman write to all district and parish council members advising them about their requirements to ensure that the integrity of any local investigations not be compromised.  The wording had followed closely Counsel’s advice on a specific issue.  In response to Councillor A Riley’s report that it had met with bemusement and was seen as a further indication of the opacity of Standards Board for England procedures, the Chairman urged Committee members to help clarify to those they represent the general drive behind the advice in the letter: to ensure that the probity of an investigation not be perceived as compromised.

Councillor RF Bryant reported that the three parish councils within his ward all received the letter and read it aloud at their meetings, but that it had not met with any comment.  Mr D Kelleway stated that parish councils held the Standards Board for England in general disrepute and, although noting that this was not the fault of the Chairman or the Committee, felt that government ministers should lead by example in a top-down approach with better standards of behaviour.

Councillor Dr SEK van de Ven explained that the parish councils in her ward had found the letter helpful and clarified matters, suggesting that it was best to err on the side of caution, and added that both parish councils were interested in standards matters.  Councillor Mrs DP Roberts felt that many parish councils had seen the Code of Conduct as an imposition and had been seen as impeding parish councillors’ intents to serve their local communities.

Some members reported that parish councils in their wards had not yet received the letter and the Democratic Services Officer undertook to provide members with evidence of when it had been sent and a further copy which could be brought to their councils’ attention.

Feedback from Parish Councils and Parish Meetings

There was strong support for a standing item on future agendas to receive feedback from parish councils and meetings via the parish members on the Committee.  Mrs GM Everson volunteered to liaise with Mr K Barrand, Cambridgeshire Association of Local Councils (CALC), to invite feedback via the CALC bulletin, and Councillor Dr van de Ven suggested setting up an electronic contact form on the proposed Standards Committee website.

The Chairman reminded all of the existence of the Parish Council Standards Sub-Committee, which had a specific remit for parish council issues, but noted that it had not generated much work and had last met in 2002.  He felt that it was unduly bureaucratic to hold separate meetings, which was supported by Mr Kelleway, who felt that allowing feedback to be received at the full meeting would help regain credibility for the Standards Committee amongst parish councils and meetings.

Councillor Mrs CA Hunt asked that a separate standing item be included for feedback from district councillors, but the Committee felt that district councillors who were not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Development of training action plan: Keith Barrand, General Secretary of the Cambridgeshire Association of Local Councils (CALC), and Simon Edwards, Resources, Staffing, Information & Customer Services Portfolio Holder, have been invited to attend the meeting.  For decision.

Proposal for Training of Parish Council Chairmen and Clerks

Proposal for Training of Parish Council Chairmen and Clerks

The Committee, at its 10 May 2006 meeting, had agreed that the Vice-Chairman, Deputy Monitoring Officer and General Secretary of the Cambridgeshire Association of Local Councils (CALC) liaise to prepare a report on delivery of focussed Code of Conduct training to parish council chairmen and clerks.  The Chairman noted the poor attendance at a previous training event and the Committee had felt that it would be more efficient to train chairmen and clerks at this stage and ask them to cascade the information back to other parish councillors.  Further training events for all parish councillors would be held once the new regulations and revised Code of Conduct had been published.  The ideal would be to visit each parish council, but current resources were felt inadequate for such a task, which is why it was felt a locally-focused training DVD sent to each parish council and meeting would be more cost effective.  The DVD would be considered further once the new regulations had been published.

It was hoped that the training sessions would be self-funding and CALC had recommended charging an attendance fee of £20 per person, noting that attendees likely would value training more highly if they had paid for it.  There was some concern expressed that the fee could deter smaller parish councils, but there could be significant financial implications for the District Council if no fee were charged.  The Resources, Staffing, Information & Customer Services Portfolio Holder explained that the annual member training budget for all topics was just £4,800, and asked that a reasonable figure be charged as the Council did not have the resources to offer free sessions.  Councillor A Riley emphasised the importance of training, the costs of which were far outstripped by those of a hearing.

The recent training needs survey completed by parish councils had revealed the existence of some parish councillors being resistant to take advice from a clerk rather than from a peer.  Councillor Dr SEK van de Ven suggested that parish councils be asked to nominate an attendee for training.  The Deputy Monitoring Officer was asked to consult with parish council chairmen and clerks offering a range of possible training times, including evening and Saturday sessions, and possible fees, from which the Council would try to arrange events which suited the majority of respondents.

Mr K Barrand reported that CALC had put Cambridgeshire forward to pilot a training programme and, to ensure a level of uniformity across Cambridgeshire, had selected the option to develop a model compact between County Associations of Local Councils and the standards committees of the principal authorities in the area.  The Standards Board for England (SBE) had made a joint funding bid with the National Association of Local Councils and the Society of Local Council Clerks to the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Local Government Association’s capacity building programme, but the outcome was not yet known.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer agreed to move the CALC  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The full advance programme is available for download from the Council’s website.  For decision.

The Chairman, who had attended the 2005 conference, commended it highly and offered to reduce costs by attending only the first day and collect and distribute all training material available.  The Deputy Monitoring Officer reported that the conference costs were:

·                      £310 + VAT per delegate for one day, plus travel and accommodation; or

·                      £415 + VAT per delegate for both days, plus travel and accommodation.

The Resources, Staffing, Information & Customer Services Portfolio Holder was sympathetic to the Committee’s views of the importance of the conference, but reminded those present of the Council’s current financial position and that each section of the Council would receive invitations to conferences which were high priorities for their service area.  Councillor NN Cathcart supported the attendance of the Chairman and the Deputy Monitoring Officer, who would feed back information to the benefit of the Committee.

Mr K Barrand, noting the importance of the conference to parish councils, offered to fund half the attendance costs of one parish member of the Standards Committee in return for that member reporting back to CALC and the District Council.  The Committee accepted Mr M Farrar’s offer to attend as a parish member if the District Council could provide the remaining funding.  Councillor SM Edwards indicated that he would be unable to commit funding without first reviewing the budgetary figures and undertook to investigate whether the Deputy Monitoring Officer’s attendance could be funded from the officer training budget.

The Standards Committee

The Chairman undertook to provide the notes of the 2005 conference to all Standards Committee members.  The Standards Committee thanked Councillor Edwards for his comments and assistance.

A request for a dispensation has been received from members of the Histon & Impington Recreation Ground Sub-Committee.  For decision.

Councillor MJ Mason left the meeting for the duration of this item.

A dispensation request had been received from members of the Histon & Impington Recreation Ground Sub-Committee explaining that the number of Sub-Committee members who were prohibited from participating in the business of the Sub-Committee exceeded 50% of those Members entitled to and required to so participate.  The Deputy Monitoring Officer drew the Committee’s attention to the legal position set out in the Monitoring Officer’s letter and confirmed that the information received fulfilled all legal requirements.

The Standards Committee

Mr D Kelleway requested that covering reports be provided for all agenda items.

To recommend the draft Whistleblowing Policy to Cabinet for adoption.

The Standards Committee received the Whistleblowing Policy, which had been re-drafted following the Committee having expressed concern about its adequacy.  Mr P Brindle and Councillor RF Bryant had served as the Committee’s representatives on the working group which had reviewed the policy, with the Deputy Monitoring Officer assisting with legal matters.

The Committee commended the document and supported subscribing to the Public Concern at Work “starter package”, costing approximately £310 per annum, which provided a compliance toolkit, helpline subscription, posters to promote the policy and a newsletter.  The Deputy Monitoring Officer explained that comments had not yet been received from the unions, but that their responses would be included in the report to Cabinet.

Committee members were asked to submit any comments to the Deputy Monitoring Officer before 31 August 2006, and Councillor Bryant undertook to present the comments to the working group.

The Standards Committee

The Committee thanked the members of the working group for the updated policy.

For decision. 

The Committee considered the options available for a webpage.  Councillor Dr SEK van de Ven suggested that the Committee’s purpose, to promote and maintain high standards of conduct within the district council and parish councils, be moved to the top of the page.

In response to concerns expressed by Mr D Kelleway about the timeliness of information on the site, the Democratic Services Officer explained that agendas were published directly to the site and draft minutes usually were available within ten working days after the meeting date.

The Standards Committee

For ratification. 

The Chairman introduced the draft procedure for local investigations and noted that representations had been made by two Committee members, copies of which were available on the Council’s website and which would be circulated to all Committee members.  Rather than attempt to re-draft the procedure at the current meeting, the Committee felt that this procedure and the associated Procedure for Local Standards Hearings be adjourned to an extra-ordinary meeting.  The Deputy Monitoring Officer undertook to receive comments from Committee members before a set deadline, and would incorporate into a revised procedure all straightforward drafting issues then prepare a report on substantive issues of principle for discussion.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer explained that the original procedures had been drafted by Peter Keith-Lucas, a partner with the Bevan Brittan firm of solicitors in London, and had been included as part of a resource package at a recent training exercise.  The procedures, once re-drafted by the Standards Committee, would be forwarded to the Constitution Review Working Party and then to full Council for incorporation into the Constitution.  There was no immediate need for the procedures to be ratified, as the Constitution already contained a procedure for local hearings and the Standards Board for England had written guidance on local investigations.

Councillor A Riley supported the proposal for an extra-ordinary meeting and asked that Committee members receive copies of the Statutory Instruments underlying the procedures.  He asked the Deputy Monitoring Officer seek clarification from the Standards Board for England why the procedure omitted the option for the Ethical Standard Officer to find evidence of a breach but take no further action.  He further queried the existence in legislation of a local filtering process allowing the investigator to acknowledge evidence of a breach but not to require a hearing in instances where it was unlikely sanctions would be imposed.  The Deputy Monitoring Officer confirmed that the comment in the July 2006 Town and Parish Standard publication from the Standards Board for England was the first time the Ethical Standards Officer filtering process had been acknowledged in writing.

Mr D Kelleway proposed the establishment of a sub-committee to review the procedures with the Chairman and Monitoring Officer before they returned to full Committee, but it was felt that an extra-ordinary meeting would suffice.  The Democratic Services Officer undertook to circulate amongst Committee Members possible dates for the extra-ordinary meeting and Mr Kelleway asked that it be noted that the £210 annual co-optees’ allowance for parish members was insufficient to cover his loss of earnings to attend meetings unless he took unpaid leave from work.

The Standards Committee

Mr Kelleway reiterated his request that all agenda items have covering reports. 

For ratification. 

The Standards Committee

To note. 

Copies of the July 2006 editions of the Standards Board for England Bulletin and Town and Parish Standard were circulated.  Mrs GM Everson noted that the previous Bulletin had referred to a questionnaire for Standards Committee members and the Deputy Monitoring Officer confirmed that copies would be circulated to members according to the set criteria.  A report and recommendations were expected from the SBE at the end of the process.

The Chairman reported that he had been approached by an accountant from the Council’s external auditors offering to attend a Standards Committee meeting to speak on the role of the Standards Committee in terms of the Council’s overall performance.  Noting that there would be no financial implications from this presentation, the Standards Committee accepted the invitation.

The Standards Committee NOTED the Standards Board for England Annual Review 2005-06. 

To note the Chairman’s appointment of the panel which will be conducting interviews with the shortlisted candidates. 

The Standards Committee NOTED the Chairman’s appointment of Mr P Brindle, Councillor RF Bryant, Mrs GM Everson and Councillor Mrs VM Trueman to interview and appoint at least two independent members from the five shortlisted candidates, with Mr Brindle acting as Chairman of the panel.

Mr D Kelleway queried the shortlisting and appointments process, which was confirmed as:

·                      initial advertisement in South Cambs Magazine inviting applications;

·                      shortlist prepared by the Deputy Monitoring Officer in line with the Council’s recruitment and selection policy;

·                      interviews and selection by an appointments panel appointed by the Chairman in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, a streamlined procedure agreed by Council on 27 July 2006; and

·                      ratification by Council the recommendations from the appointments panel.

Mr Kelleway regretted that he had not been informed of the recent amendments to the Constitution and Councillor Dr SEK van de Ven recommended that the Council agenda on-line be consulted for full details.  Mr Kelleway felt that Committee members should be informed of the names of all applicants and who had been shortlisted, but the Chairman explained that such information was, necessarily, confidential.  Members of the appointments panel would receive copies of the application forms completed by the candidates attending interviews.

The Chairman warned that Committee members were in danger of disclosing exempt information and drew the debate to a close.

The Standards Committee NOTED the Chairman’s appointment of Mr P Brindle, Councillor RF Bryant, Mrs GM Everson and Councillor Mrs VM Trueman to interview and appoint at least two independent members from the five shortlisted candidates, with Mr Brindle acting as Chairman of the panel.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer reported a steady stream of queries on the Code of Conduct.  She and the Chairman had been consulted on and advised on one recent incident where it was believed that a complaint was being made to the Standards Board for England.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer, conforming to the usual practice to give neither names nor details of local cases, reported that:

·                      the Ethical Standards Officer had found no failure to comply with the Code of Conduct in a case where a district councillor had self-referred the matter;

·                      the Ethical Standards Officer had decided not to investigate two related cases involving procedural matters at a parish council meeting;

·                      as reported previously an existing local investigation into allegations made against a district councillor had been returned to the Standards Board for England following allegations of potential interference and a draft report had not yet been issued;

·                      two cases involving district councillors were under investigation by the Standards Board for England; and

·                      two local investigations involving parish councillors remained in limbo due to the continuing absence of the Monitoring Officer.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer explained that interviews had been held for the two local investigations, but that the Monitoring Officer had not completed a report nor made any findings; if he were unable to return to work on his proposed return date of 24 August 2006, the investigations could have to be restarted.  The circumstances were very unfortunate and sympathy was expressed for the continuing uncertainty to the individuals concerned, but the Chairman reminded the Committee that it was inappropriate to conduct a public debate or to directly or implicitly criticise a Council officer and drew discussion to a halt.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer agreed to provide the Standards Board for England case number in the future.  Mr D Kelleway asked that the information be provided in a written report, supported by Councillor Mrs CA Hunt, who acknowledged the additional workload this would generate for the legal section but stated that Committee members reserved the right to have the full information.  The Chairman agreed to receive a written report, but reminded members that the information would be publicly available as part of the agenda and reserved the right to reconsider the situation if a written report proved unsustainable in terms of officer time.

Nothing to report.

The Ombudsman’s letter was circulated.  No complaints relating to standards issues had been received.

On 21 November 2005 Standards Committee agreed to meet quarterly on the second Wednesday of the month at 10 am, except on occasions where this would conflict with other Council commitments.  Members are asked to note the dates of future meetings, all to be held in the Council Chamber:

·                      Wednesday 8 November 2006

·                      Wednesday 14 February 2007

·                      Wednesday 16 May 2007 (third Wednesday of the month, due to Planning Committee meeting on 8 May)

·                      Wednesday 8 August 2007

·                      Wednesday 14 November 2007

Mr D Kelleway gave his apologies for the meeting of 8 November 2006.  The Chairman invited Mr Kelleway to prepare a report for the Standards Committee to consider his proposals for the consideration of evening meetings and an increased co-optees’ allowance for parish members.  Mr Kelleway explained that the existing allowance was insufficient to cover his loss of earnings and that could result in a lack of proper representation if parish and independent members of the Standards Committee were restricted to retired or wealthy residents.  The Chairman advised that a written report and recommendations to the 14 February 2007 meeting would better assist the Standards Committee in coming to a decision, but Mr Kelleway felt that he had made all the points that he wished to raise and hoped that the Committee agreed with him.  The Democratic Services Officer would provide Mr Kelleway upon request any background papers he required regarding the Members’ Allowances Scheme.

The Standards Committee NOTED the dates of future meetings, held quarterly on the second Wednesday of each month at 10 am in the Council Chamber, except where this would conflict with other Council commitments:

·                      Extra-ordinary meeting before the end of October 2006

·                      Wednesday 8 November 2006

·                      Wednesday 14 February 2007

·                      Wednesday 16 May 2007

·                      Wednesday 8 August 2007

·                      Wednesday 14 November 2007