Agenda item

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 on the Committee were able to attend meetings by invitation and could also speak on matters at full Council.

The Standards Committee