Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillors Terry Chivers, Horace Prickett and Miss Pam Turner.

Councillor Chivers was substituted by Councillor Russell Hawker.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2013 (To follow)

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2013 and the attached proposed constitutional changes were presented. It was,

Resolved:

To approve as a true and correct record and sign the minutes.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

The Chair thanked officers for the training session on Standards Hearings, Reviews and Dispensation Sub-Committees for Members that had taken place at 1030 on 09 October 2013.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution. Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of the agenda no later than 5pm on Wednesday 02 October 2013. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

There were no questions or statements submitted.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Hearing Sub-Committee on 30 July 2013 as approved by the Sub-Committee on 03 September 2013.

The minutes of the meeting of the Standards Hearing Sub-Committee on 30 July 2013 as approved by the Sub-Committee on 03 September 2013, and the minutes of the Sub-Committee on 03 September 2013 (as attached) were presented.

It was,

Resolved:

To accept the minutes of the Standards Hearing Sub-Committees on 30 July 2013 and 03 September 2013.

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer.

The Localism Act 2011 introduceda newstandardsframeworkwhich came into effect on1 July2012.WiltshireCouncil, as a principal authority,was requiredunder the provisions of thenewlegislation to make a number of significantchangesto itsarrangementsgoverningstandards of member conduct. In July 2013 the Committee requested an update on the Code of Conduct and the Complaints procedure since its implementation.

The Monitoring Officer therefore presented a report and appendices reviewing the operation and effectiveness of the new arrangements from 1 July 2012 to date.

It was highlighted that there had been few complaints since the implementation of the new arrangements, and that to date there had been no complaint which had been referred for investigation which had been received since the new procedure had been put in place. The only investigations had related to complaints made under the old regime, but dealt with under the new arrangements.

Attention was drawn to suggestions for improvements to the operation of the current procedure from the Independent Persons who advised both subject members and the Monitoring Officer during the complaints procedure, including simplifying the communication of the process to prospective complainants, streamlining investigations, maximising the opportunity for alternative resolutions of complaints at an early stage, and other steps as detailed in the report.  These would be followed up by the Monitoring Officer

Concerns were raised by some members in relation to comments from the Independent Persons that the absence of clear provision on the expected standards of behaviour of elected councillors in the Code of Conduct was resulting in cases being rejected that might otherwise have been put forward for investigation, with the risk of potentially undermining public confidence in the process.

The Committee noted the summary on the outcome of complaints received so far under the new regime but felt that it was too soon to give any proper assessment of the effectiveness of the council’s code and arrangements and that more time was need to allow these to bed down.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

To consider the annual letter of the Local Government Ombudsman dated 16 July 2013.

Also attached are pages 1-19 of the Annual Report and Accounts. The full report can be found at http://www.lgo.org.uk/publications/annual-report/

The Annual Review letter to the Council from the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) providing a summary of statistics on the complaints made to the LGO regarding Wiltshire Council was presented., It was noted that there had been a total of 63 complaints, against an average of 36 for Unitary Authorities in general, although there was no comparison based on size, as Wiltshire was a large Unitary Authority.

It was noted with some disappointment that more detailed information would not be forthcoming from the LGO due to a change in their business processes during the year. It was noted from the summary report accompanying the letter that complaints were made across a broad range of services, highlighting no major concerns with any particular service, and officers were providing good responses to the LGO on complaints.

Resolved:

To note the Annual Review letter from the Local Government Ombudsman.

The Monitoring Officer will report the current status of Complaints under the Code of Conduct at the meeting.

The Monitoring Officer introduced the report, noting the total number of complaints since May 2012 as 42, and that since the implementation of the new standards regime in July 2012, no complaints had been referred for investigation except for cases that predated the new regime.

Resolved:

To note the Status Report on Complaints under the Code of Conduct.

The Monitoring Officer will provide an oral update to the Committee on the latest position.

The Monitoring Officer gave a verbal update on the latest position concerning the need for  members to obtain a dispensation to vote on the budget or the setting of council tax. There had been no change to the law but revised guidance from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) now specifically states that dispensations are not required.

The Monitoring Officer clarified that the guidance did not have the force of law, although the issuing of that guidance did in his view lower the risk of any successful prosecution for breach of the rules on disclosable pecuniary interests.  The Monitoring Officer advised that he would continue to consult with colleagues in other local authorities with a view to issuing advice to members in the near future.

 Resolved:

To note the update from the Monitoring Officer.

To note the contents of the Forward Plan.

The proposed forward plan was noted, and the dates of additional future committees confirmed as 02 April 2014, 09 July 2014 and 08 October 0214.

Any other items of business which, in the opinion of the Chairman, should be taken as a matter of urgency. 

There were no urgent items.