Agenda item

Fiona Ledden stated that this report had been written to establish how the Standards Committee could ensure that high standards were maintained by all members, despite the lack of sanctions available in the new legislation. One way that had been agreed at the previous Standards Committee was to involve the party Whips and that was why they had been invited to attend this meeting. Fiona Ledden added that she was open to any other ideas that the Committee had at how to make compliance with the Code of Conduct more robust.

In response to a number of questions by the Committee Fiona Ledden explained that it would be possible for any Councillor or any member of the public to make a complaint in writing to the Monitoring Officer. This included in email form as a handwritten signature was not required but the Monitoring Officer would not generally accept anonymous complaints. Fiona Ledden again stated that she would be happy to provide training for Councillors on the Code of Conduct and the sanctions for contravening it. She reiterated that there were not many formal sanctions prescribed by Law any more but as long as there was a consistent, serious approach to dealing with those who breached the Code of Conduct then that should help promote good behaviour. It was agreed that there were advantages to the new system, such as Councillors not being able to use the Standards regime for their own political gains. However it was acknowledged that the lack of sanctions could prove problematic. The committee agreed that having the group Whips at the meeting was very helpful and that they should be invited to all Standards Committee and be included in the distribution for papers.

When asked whether the Monitoring Officer would consult the Whip or the Independent Person first regarding a complainant, it was stated that it would depend on the circumstances and the type of complainant. For example if the complainant related to the leader of the group or the whip then the Monitoring Officer would consult the Independent Person first. If it were a minor matter that could be resolved with the Whip without wasting the Independent Persons time then Whip would be consulted first. It was then explained that the Monitoring Officer would inform the Standards Committee, in annual report, of all the complaints they had received, including those that had not been referred to the Committee. It was added that the Monitoring Officer was keen to make the process as open and transparent as possible.

Fiona Ledden then clarified that it would be a balancing act between the cost of any investigation and the public interest in that investigation. She stated that cost would not be an automatic bar to investigation if there was a substantial public interest.

Fiona Ledden agreed that social media was a complicated area. For example it would be expected that the Leader of the Council would have a blog on the Council’s website and that that blog would not necessarily overtly promote party politics. It would be expected that the Council’s website would not link to another website that was a very political page. The Chair added that given that most officers and Councillors now used electronic devices that common sense should prevail in regards to the use of those electronic devices for political activity. The Committee were informed that there had been a recent refresh of the IT policy and that this should help to clarify the position. Kathy Robinson and Fiona Ledden stated that they would be happy to help if a Councillor was unsure whether they could use Council resources.

RESOLVED:

The Committee noted the report.