Agenda item

Report by Ian Gibbons, Associate Director – Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer

The Chairman invited Councillor Julian Johnson, Chairman of the Standards Committee, to present the report which asked Council to consider recommendations of the Standards Committee on Changes to the Constitution on the following matters:

a) Part 13: Members Code of Conduct (Appendix 2)

b) Part 12: Roles and Responsibility for Councillors (Appendix 3)

c) Part 4: Council Rules of Procedure (Appendix 4)

Councillor Johnson then proposed, subsequently seconded by Councillor Paul Oatway, the following resolution:

That Council approves changes to the Code of Conduct in Part 13 of the

Constitution, as shown in the tracked change document at Appendix 2a.

In relation to a) Part 13: Members Code of Conduct (Appendix 2),

the Cabinet Member for Legal Services, Councillor Stuart Wheeler, proposed the following amendment:

That Council defers consideration of the proposed changes to the Constitution as set out in Paragraph 12 relating to the Code of Conduct for Members and asks the Standards Committee to consider a possible alternative to the amendments proposed being a full guidance prepared by the Monitoring Officer for Councillors to assist them in meeting their obligations under the Council’s Code of Conduct.  That Standards Committee be requested to bring back to the next meeting of this Council their full recommendations on this issue.

Councillor Wheeler made it clear that the Standards Committee would be free to recommend to Council whatever it considered appropriate.

Councillor Johnson, and Councillor Oatway, indicated that they accepted the amendment.

The Chairman then invited the Group Leaders to address the matter. Following this, Councillor Simon Killane stated that he would be seeking to submit evidence to the Standards Committee in relation to his concerns over the code of conduct complaints process.

There being no further debate, the meeting;

Resolved

To accept the amendment

Councillor Johnson then proposed, subsequently the remaining recommendations from the report.

There being no further debate, the meeting;

Resolved

(a)  That in relation to Part 13: Members Code of Conduct (Appendix 2) - that Council defers consideration of the proposed changes to the Constitution as set out in Paragraph 12 relating to the Code of Conduct for Members and asks the Standards Committee to consider a possible alternative to the amendments proposed being a full guidance prepared by the Monitoring Officer for Councillors to assist them in meeting their obligations under the Council’s Code of Conduct.  That Standards Committee be requested to bring back to the next meeting of this Council their full recommendations on this issue.

(b)  That Council approve changes to Part 12 of the Constitution, as shown in the tracked change document at Appendix 3a.

(c)  That Council approve changes to Part 4 of the Constitution, as shown in the tracked change document at Appendix 4a.