Agenda and minutes

To note the appointment of Councillor Margaret Davine as a Reserve Member of the Standards Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 1.5 and following notification from the Labour Group.

RESOLVED:  That the appointment of Councillor Margaret Davine as a Reserve Member of the Committee, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 1.5, be noted.

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no Reserve Members in attendance.

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Committee;

(b)               all other Members present.

Agenda Item 11 – The Future of the Standards Committee

Councillor Graham Henson declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he was the relevant Portfolio Holder when options for the current Standards regime in Harrow Council were developed and implemented.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

To appoint a Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Municipal Year 2013/14.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Graham Henson be appointed as Vice?Chairman of the Committee for the 2013/14 Municipal Year.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2012 and the minutes of the Special meeting held on 18 January 2013 be taken as read and signed as correct records.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2012 and the Special meeting held on 18 January 2013 be taken as read and signed as correct records.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents/organisations under the provisions of Committee Procedure Rule 17 (Part 4B of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions were put, or petitions or deputations received at this meeting.

Report of the Director of Legal & Governance Services.

The Committee received a report on whether or not dispensations from the Interest provisions of the Council’s Code of Conduct for Councillors should be published on the Council’s website.

An officer introduced the report and made the following points:

·                    the issue had been raised at the previous meeting and discussions had taken place on whether dispensations which had been granted should be a matter of public record;

·                    some Councils did have a public register of dispensations.  The only exemptions related to dispensations granted for sensitive interests i.e. where there was potential for the Councillor to become a victim of violence or intimidation.

During the discussion on this item Members of the Committee raised a number of queries which officers responded to as follows:

·                    any dispensation granted may be subject to disclosure under any Freedom of Information request on the basis that it was in the public interest;

·                    it was believed that statutory instruments intended for dispensations to be disclosed verbally at meetings, but the relevant provisions had been not clearly worded;

·                    any register of dispensations would have to specify what exactly the dispensation was granted for.  If any dispensation or interest was declared verbally at a meeting, it was important to be as specific as possible;

·                    dispensations could be granted for a specified amount of time (of no more than 4 years) or up to the next Local Elections.

During the discussion on this item, Members of the Committee made a number of comments as follows:

·                    it was important that dispensations granted were disclosed publicly. Non disclosure was against the spirit of the Localism Act;

·                    if a dispensation was granted there was no constructive reason why it should not be published;

·                    even if a dispensation was declared publicly in a register, it was still important for Councillors to disclose it verbally at a relevant meeting to provide clarity to members of the public;

·                    despite any embarrassment Councillors may face in declaring dispensations, the importance of ensuring clarity for members of the public was more important;

·                    any register of dispensations should include dispensations which have already been granted and which were currently in existence.  If any Member had an issue with this they could ask for the dispensation to be cancelled which would remove its entry from the register;

·                    Members should be made aware of any implications of any decision to implement a Register of Dispensations.

Resolved to RECOMMEND:  (to Full Council)

That

(1)               if a dispensation is granted pursuant to S33 Localism Act 2011 then within 28 days details of the dispensation will be entered into a register of dispensations which will be maintained by the Monitoring Officer on behalf of the Standards Committee. 

(2)               the Register will be published on the Council’s website by 1 December 2013 unless the dispensation relates to a sensitive interest pursuant to S32 Localism Act 2011 in which case limited information only may be published.

(3)               the Councillors’ Code of Conduct be amended to reflect a requirement that any dispensations be declared verbally  ...  view the full minutes text for item 109.

To agree the establishment of and appointment of Members to the Sub-Committees of this Committee for the Municipal Year 2013/14.

RESOLVED:  That the Sub-Committees of the Standards Committee be established for the Municipal Year 2013/14 with the memberships detailed in Appendix I to these minutes.

Report of the Director of Legal and Governance Services.

The Chair introduced an item on the future of the Committee.  The Chair explained that since the introduction of the current arrangements the role and responsibility of the Committee had changed and he was proposing that further options for its structure be presented to the Committee at its next meeting.

Members of the Committee provided several comments on this item as follows:

·                    when the current arrangements had been implemented, it had been so to ensure compliance with the legislative requirements.  It was always the intention of the Council to revisit its arrangements to consider whether it was appropriate for the Council and to consult with the public;

·                    the Sub-Committees and Working Groups which operated separately to the Committee still played a significant role in dealing with complaints against Councillors.  However the main Committee could merge with another;

·                    whatever outcome was decided in relation to the future of the Committee, it was important to retain the Independent Persons.  It was important to retain their views and skills.

The Chair asked officers to present a report to the next meeting of the Standards Committee setting out some options available to the Committee.  These options would relate to the role of the Committee, the Code of Conduct and dealing with Councillor complaints.  Any benchmarking information would also be useful.  The Committee would then select options which it wished to pursue.  Any public consultation on these options would then be conducted after the local elections in 2014.

RESOLVED:  That a report be presented to the next meeting on 6 March 2014 on options relating to the future of the Committee.