Agenda item
Matters arising
Minutes:
(i) Corporate Risk Register
The Chair stated that he had been assured that the Risk Register wouldbe available in time for the next meeting of the Committee.
(ii) Independent Member of the Audit Committee - Recruitment Update
Conrad Hall (Chief Finance Officer) gave a brief update on what efforts had been made to attract a suitably qualified Independent Member to serve on the Committee. It was outlined that, as things stood, the Council had not found anyone suitable to fulfil this role but the recruitment process remained ongoing.
(iii) Complaint Regarding the Appointment of Independent Person(s)
The Chair invited Fiona Alderman (Chief Legal Officer) to address the Committee with regard to recent concerns from a member of the public on whether Brent had a properly appointed Independent Person to advise on Code of Conduct matters between May 2014 and May 2016, and if this had impacted upon the treatment of complaints of misconduct made against Members of the Council. The Chair advised that as the complaint was in part based on the wording of the Annual Governance Statement 2015/2016 it was appropriate for this to be addressed as it fell within points 11, 12 and 13 of the Audit Committee’s Terms of Reference.
Fiona Alderman outlined that a member of the public had made a number of complaints on this issue, with particular reference to the conduct of the Leader of the Council at a past Employment Tribunal case involving two senior Council Officers. She offered some background information on the process for appointing an Independent Person in line with the provisions of the Localism Act 2011. The Committee heard that, during the time period in question, the Council had been unsuccessful in recruiting a new Independent Person to replace the existing Independent Person, Sola Afuape, before their appointed term was due to end. Fiona Alderman said that the Council had taken the pragmatic view of continuing to consult the previous Independent Person on Code of Conduct matters whilst the post was advertised for recruitment a second time. This was rather than the Council having no Independent Person to refer to until a new appointment was made. The Committee heard that the Council had now appointed Mendip Johal as an Independent Person and Dr Robert Cawley as Independent Member for the Standards Committee. Both of these appointments had recently been approved by Full Council. The Committee also heard that subsequent recruitment campaigns for further Independent Members and Independent Persons were at the shortlisting stage, with a view to further appointments being made by the Full Council at its meeting to be held on 21 November 2016.
On the specific complaint which related to the Leader of the Council, Fiona Alderman outlined that having taken advice on this issue, from both the Chief Executive and Sola Afuape, her view as Monitoring Officer remained that the detail of this complaint fell outside of the Members Code of Conduct and did not disclose a potential breach of the Code and thereby it was not required to be referred to the Council’s Standards Committee.
In response to an additional question from the member of the public who raised the complaint, Fiona Alderman clarified that, with regards to the Annual Governance Statement, there was a distinction to make between Independent Members and Independent Persons for consultation on Code of Conduct issues. She reiterated that the Council’s course of action between the timeframe in question was to continue to use the services of the Independent Person who had advised the previous Monitoring Officer whilst the recruitment for a new Independent Person was ongoing. As such, the Chair agreed that there was no specific need to amend the Annual Governance Statement 2015/2016 or significant governance issue to be addressed.
Responding to questions from Members on what the measures of best practice were for the average tenure of an Independent Person, Fiona Alderman stated Independent Persons would generally be appointed for a minimum of two years. She highlighted that she was developing measures for the Council to have a rolling program of recruitment for these positions so that there were not wholesale changes to Independent Persons occurring at the same time. She mentioned that this would help ensure that the Council was not placed in any future potential scenario of not having any Independent Person(s) to consult.
RESOLVED that the Chief Legal Officer:
(i) Formally writes to the member of the public who raised the complaint with a full answer to their concerns; and
(ii) Develop guidance on best practice for appointing Independent Persons, to be shared with members of the Committee.