Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Allison Bucknell, Howard Greenman, Howard Marshall, John Noeken and Mr John Scragg.

Councillor Bucknell was substituted by Councillor Sheila Parker.

Councillor Noeken was substituted by Councillor Pip Ridout.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held 20 January 2014.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2014 were presented for consideration, and 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.

There were no announcements.

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 16 April 2014. 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 consider the recommendations of the Constitution Focus Group regarding Part 4 of the Constitution in relation to the Petition Scheme, Part 9 of the Constitution - Financial Regulations and Procedure Rules and Part 12.1 of the Constitution in relation to the Safeguarding Children and Young People Panel.

Attached are the reports on proposed changes to Part 4 and Part 9 of the Constitution, and the tracked changes of Part 4, Part 9 and Part 12.1, as presented to the Constitution Focus Group. Comment and Recommendations from the Focus Group meeting on 15 April will follow.

Also attached is Part 3 of the Constitution – Responsibility for Functions – with currently proposed tracked changes, subject to additional amendments following comments from the Focus Group for consideration.

Part 4 (Pages 5 – 14)

Part 9 (Pages 15 – 112)

Part 12.1 (Pages 113 – 118)

Part 3 (Pages 119 – 186)

The Monitoring Officer introduced the reports and recommendations from the Constitution Focus Group on Part 4 of the Constitution in relation to Petitions, Part 9 - Financial Regulations and Procedure Rules - and Part 12A in relation to the Safeguarding Children and Young People Panel.

In discussing Petitions it was explained that with the repeal of the underpinning Act of Parliament, the Council’s statutory petition scheme had lapsed, and the Constitution Focus Group had considered what details should be retained or added to the discretionary petition scheme. The Focus Group had recommended that once petitions reach a specific threshold they should be able to trigger specific actions such as a council debate, and that the previous thresholds had been too high. The Focus Group had therefore recommended new thresholds, as well as clarifying the rules on e-petitions and who was eligible to sign a petition.

It was clarified that the changes to Part 9 were largely to remove duplication with other parts of the Constitution and updates to reflect council practice, management structure and legislative changes.

The changes to Part12A of the Constitution were stated to incorporate details of the Safeguarding Children and Young People Panel established by Cabinet as part of its acceptance of the recommendations of the Safeguarding Task Group. This provides consistency in approach as this Panel runs parallel to the Corporate Parenting Panel.

The Committee discussed the proposed changes, requesting details of how population would be determined for the community areas and the associated thresholds for petition actions. In relation to Part 9 members were assured that with removal of information from Part 9 that other parts of the Constitution contained the relevant details on Overview and Scrutiny.

The Monitoring Officer then updated the Committee on progress of the work to revise Part 3 of the Constitution - Responsibility for Functions and Scheme of Delegation - which would be brought forward for the Committee’s approval at a future date.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

To recommend that Council adopt the proposed revisions to Part 4, Part 9 and Part 12A of the Constitution.

To receive a report from the Monitoring Officer.

The Head of Governance presented a report on the review of the Whistleblowing Complaints Procedure, noting the current procedure had been in place for 8 years, with minor amendments in 2012 and 2013 following internal reviews and requests from the Care Quality Commission, such as the inclusion of external regulator contract details.

In 2013 a Whistleblowing Commission was established to examine the effectiveness of whistleblowing policies, recommending the introduction of a statutory code of practice for whistleblowing arrangements. The Head of Governance explained that the recommendations made by the Commission, including the maintenance of confidentiality where requested and clear assurance to staff about protection from reprisal, formed part of the Wiltshire arrangements for many years, and it was not anticipated that a statutory code would result in any significant changes to the council’s existing policy.

The Committee discussed the report, requesting further details about contact information for whistleblowing, and the difference between reporting a grievance and the need to blow the whistle. In response to queries it was stated that while despite assurances some staff might fear reprisal for whistleblowing, the council’s policy made it a disciplinary offence to victimise a whistleblower.

At the end of debate, it was,

Resolved:

To note the report.

To receive a update from the Monitoring Officer on the Review of the Effectiveness of Code of conduct Complaints Procedure.

The Head of Governance introduced a report on the review of the effectiveness of Code of Conducts Complaints procedure, with details in the report on the number of complaints received and the actions taken.

The Committee discussed the report, and noted that since the implementation of the new standards regime, no complaint in Wiltshire taken under the new system had been referred for investigation. The Committee felt that this could result in public perception of the new system as ineffective, and further work was required to look at the system operation in depth to properly assess its effectiveness.

At the end of discussion, it was,

Resolved:

To arrange a seminar as soon as possible for members of the Committee and any other Wiltshire Councillors who wish to attend, together with the council’s three Independent Persons and Mr Paul Hoey of Hoey Ainscough Associates Ltd. to review the operation and effectiveness of the standards regime and consider whether any changes to the current system are appropriate.

To note the Forward Work Plan of the Committee.

The proposed forward plan was noted, with the addition that an update would be provided to the Committee following the meeting proposed under minute 18.

It was also noted that a briefing on the constitutional changes recommended to Council would be held on 6 May.

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.