Agenda item

Members periodically review the codes and protocols which form part of the Constitution and which set out standards of conduct for members and for the council generally. The Protocol for Member/Office Relations and the Local Code of Corporate Governance have been reviewed and some amendments are proposed to those documents.

Kathy Robinson (Senior Lawyer, Legal and Procurement) presented the report and advised that the role of the Standards Committee involved routinely reviewing various codes and protocols.  The review of the Protocol for member and officer relations promoted high quality conduct and she referred to the proposed changes as set in appendix one of the report.  Members heard that the Protocol was a document of principle on member and officer behaviour and did not seek to address every conceivable situation.  Kathy Robinson then drew members’ attention to the proposed changes to the Local Code of Corporate Governance as set out in appendix two of the report.  She explained that the Code was mainly concerned about the council’s behaviour overall and in promoting good governance.   The Code was aspirational and set a benchmark for good governance and other local authorities Codes were also fairly similar

During discussion, a member enquired whether member and officer relations could be discussed at the Employees’ Joint Consultative Committee. He commented that relations between members and officers was particularly important in matters relating to issues such as planning and licensing.  Another member referred to the Members Code of Conduct and sought further clarification about the relevant grounds for members making complaints about other members and asked for an example of what would constitute a breach of leadership.  He also requested that he be emailed the Members Code of Conduct.  Another member commented that advice notes on the various codes were also useful. With regard to the revised Local Code of Corporate Governance, a member commented that the six principles were very clear and was fuller and more comprehensive than the previous one. 

Sheila Darr (Co-opted Member) commented that respect for others was a particularly important and powerful principle in the Members Code of Conduct and this needed to be taken into account when considering leadership issues.

In reply, Kathy Robinson advised that the interface between members and officers and their role in the council was distinct from employer and employee relations.  The role of the Employees’ Joint Consultative Committee was to discuss general employer/employee relations as opposed to individual cases. With regard to the Members Code of Conduct, Kathy Robinson advised that the Localism Act set out the principles that should be included and it was up to individual local authorities to produce a code from this.  There were also supplementary codes and protocols for planning and licensing.  With regard to leadership, Kathy Robinson advised that lead members should act with integrity and respect and she agreed to email Councillor Davidson the Members Code of Conduct and stated that she would circulate all codes to members if they felt that this would be useful.   With regard to the Local Code of Corporate Governance, Kathy Robinson advised that this had been updated following recent revised guidance from the Government.  Members noted that the recommendations in the report would also need approval at Full Council on 19 January 2015. 

Thomas Cattermole added that the Protocol for member and officer relations also provided useful guidance for both parties in relation to more complex issues such as confidentiality.

RESOLVED:

(i)         that the changes made to the Protocol for member/officer relations as set out in appendix one of the report be endorsed; and

(ii)        that the changes made to the Local Code of Corporate Governance as set out in appendix two of the report be endorsed.