The Committee considered the
Action List in detail and noted/agreed the following:
- Action
1 – The joint training with Warrington Borough Council had taken place on
18th June 2008. A number of Members could not attend this event
and so the possibility of arranging a new date with a role play training
exercise was being investigated. This would incorporate the new
Independent Member who had recently been appointed. It was agreed that
Members be canvassed for a training date after 13th November
2008.
- Action
3 – No information had been forthcoming from Wigan Council to date.
- Action
6 – It was confirmed that the cost of a training day could be met from
within existing resources and the Parish Councils would be included in
this.
- Action
7 – The website had been updated to state that complaints must now be
submitted to the Councils Standards Sub-Committee. In addition, if the
Committee agreed the filter arrangements before it today, information in
this respect would also be added to the website.
- Action
9 – Training on the Code was now rolled out regularly and was well
attended and this had negated the need for a DVD. It was agreed that the
opportunity of including an article in “Inside Halton” be investigated to
increase the profile of the Standards Committee. Information could be
provided about protocols, should they be agreed by the Committee, together
with links as to how these could be accessed with a timeframe for the
review of requests. It was confirmed that this information would be ready
following the next meeting of the Committee.
- Action
16 – Two Sub-Committees to be chaired an Independent Member had now been
established. Further information had been circulated with the agenda
outlining a proposed protocol for dealing with complaints based on
guidance issued by the Standards Board. The Committee considered the
documents that had been circulated in detail and agreed the following:
1) Draft Monitoring Officer Protocol – Agreed with no
changes.
2) Terms of Reference of the Assessment Sub-Committee –
agreed subject to the following amendments – 1b(iv) add “or the allegation is
in respect of another body of which the Councillor is a member” and in respect
of 1c(iii) the words “of the Standards Board for England” be included after “Adjudication
Panel”.
3) Terms of Reference of the Review
Sub-Committee – agreed subject to additional wording to be added to
paragraph 2, for the avoidance of doubt, stating that Members who sat on the
Review Sub-Committee could not have already sat on the Assessment
Sub-Committee.
4) Draft Complaint/Assessment Criteria
– agreed subject to the last paragraph under No. 1 being made impersonal, the
penultimate paragraph under No. 2 being amended to read “the Sub-Committee will
then consider whether, on the basis of the complaint and that additional
information, there is a case to answer or there has been a possible breach of
the Code of Conduct”.
- Action
17 – The Monitoring Officer had written to the Standards Board for England
about the allocation of places on conferences and had requested a
response. In the meantime, the Monitoring Officer and the Chairman would
be attending the Annual Conference the following month.