Issue - meetings

COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE - PUBLICATIONS

Meeting: 05/11/2014 - Standards Committee (Item 6)

6 COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE - PUBLICATIONS pdf icon PDF 47 KB

To consider a report of the Director of Legal and Democratic Services, giving details of two publications from the Committee for Standards in Public Life.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer introduced a report presenting and summarising two documents produced by the Committee for Standards in Public Life – “Ethics in Practice: Promoting Ethical Conduct in Public Life” and the Committee’s Annual Report.

 

The first paper presented an overview of practices across Local Government aimed at promoting high standards of ethical conduct, and laid stress on areas such as induction procedures for newly-elected Members and ongoing training. The Monitoring Officer summarised local practice in these areas, noting that it was planned, with input from Standards Committee, to refresh induction arrangements following the next local elections, and an opportunity was provided for Members to comment.

 

Strong support was expressed for robust induction training, with the suggestion being raised that greater importance should be laid on Members’ attendance. This raised the question of the timing of induction sessions to facilitate attendance.

 

It was also suggested and agreed that there was an important and ongoing role for political groups and Group Leaders to promote high standards of conduct, and that the allocation of mentors to newly-elected Members could assist with this. The Committee agreed that its Members would convey this suggestion to the respective Group Leaders.

 

Support was also expressed for ongoing / refresher training, it being noted that some long-serving Members had not had Standards issues reflected in their initial inductions. The areas of Members’ roles in relation to the Development Control process and as school governors were raised as being particularly suitable for guidance. The Monitoring Officer advised that the content of training, and appropriate modes of delivery, would be explored further in liaison with officers responsible for Member Development.

 

In respect of the Annual Report, it was noted that it was a wide-ranging document. It reiterated concerns regarding some of the impacts of provisions in the Localism Act, such as the dilution of sanctions available to local Standards Committees, but also noted that the introduction of “Independent Persons” to participate in complaint handling had had an effect in reducing the incidence of trivial or vexatious complaints. Other significant issues included the importance of induction training, scope for promotion of ethical procurement, and the positive impact of Individual Electoral Registration in tackling electoral fraud.

 

            RESOLVED -

 

(1)       That the content of the report be noted.

 

(2)       That it be noted that Standards Committee would have input into refreshing induction arrangements for newly-elected Members.

 

(3)       That the Committee’s Members approach the respective Group Leaders to highlight the role for political groups / Leaders in promoting high standards of conduct, and request that they consider the allocation of mentors to newly-elected Members.

 

(4)       That the Monitoring Officer explore further the content of training, and appropriate modes of delivery, in liaison with officers responsible for Member Development.