Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Members are required to notify any substitutions by midday on the day of the meeting.

Late substitutions will not be accepted and Members attending as a substitute without having given the due notice will not be able to take part in the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Dominic Griffiths.

Audio recording – 1 minute 25 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Dominic Griffiths.

Councillor Michael Muir was absent.

N.B. Councillor Ruth Brown entered the chamber during this item at 19:31

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 23 October 2024.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 23 October 2024 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio Recording – 1 minute 45 seconds

Councillor Alistair Willoughby, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Keith Hoskins seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 23 October 2024 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 18 seconds

There was no other business notified.

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda.  Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

(1)  The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council policy this meeting would be recorded.

(2)  The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(3)  The Chair advised for the purpose of clarification Clause 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution does not apply to this meeting.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 23 seconds

(1)   The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council policy this meeting would be recorded.

(2)   The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(3)   The Chair advised for the purpose of clarification Clause 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution does not apply to this meeting.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

There was no public participation.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 58 seconds

There was no public participation.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – LEGAL AND COMMUNITY/ MONITORING OFFICER.

The report updates Members of the Committee on standards issues locally and nationally. It contains a summary of the complaints concluded or received since the last report was presented, as well as any other relevant issues that have arisen between Committee meetings on relevant local (e.g. training provided/ undertaken, and an update on the changes to the Standards Committee’s remit).

RESOLVED: That the Committee

(1)  Noted the content of the report and makes any suggestions on future actions.

(2)  Noted the changes to the Standards Committee’s local remit and potential changes in future following the publishing of the English Devolution White Paper.

(3)  Requested that the completion figures of mandatory training for Members (Safeguarding and Data Protection)  be added to future Standards Matters reports. 

REASON FOR DECISIONS: To ensure good governance within the Council and keep the Committee abreast of changes locally and nationally.

Audio Recording – 3 minutes 2 seconds

The Monitoring Officer presented the report entitled ‘Standards Matters Report’ and highlighted that:

·       In 2024, there were 19 complaints received, as outlined in the Table under 8.3 of the report , and in 2025 there had been 3 complaints received to date.

·       The Complaints Handling Procedure was updated in June 2024, at which time it had been suggested that the time limit for complaint responses change to 3 months. However, due to announcements following the meeting regarding English Devolution, it was not proposed to continue with the proposed review of these issues, until there was a clearer national picture.

·       Following the Constitutional and Governance review and, taking into account national proposals to make a Standards Committee mandatory, the Terms of Reference of this Committee had been strengthened.

·       Proposals on national Standards Matters, as included in the English Devolution White Paper, were outlined at 8.10 of the report. The Monitoring Officer confirmed that she and Independent Person attended the Committee of Standards and Public Life and part of their response on the proposals.

The Independent Member noted that the establishing of a single, national code of Standards was one of the most important parts of the proposals, as this would streamline the overall process.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Ruth Brown

·       Councillor Tom Tyson

In response to questions, the Monitoring Officer advised that:

·       An advisory recommendation had been sent to the Mayor and Clerk at Royston Town Council regarding complaint 18/2024, and it was brought to the attention of Members for awareness of the lack of response. The lack of response may be due to staffing issues.

·       The Word ‘that’ is missing from the sentence at paragraph 8.11, which should read as follows “The Chair of Standards Committee has indicated that he has been promoting that through Group”, in reference to the consultation.

As part of the questions the Independent Person gave his endorsement of the Standards Matters Report as well as commenting positively on the National Code of Standards.

Councillor Sean Prendergast proposed, and Councillor Ian Albert seconded the motion.

The following Members took part in the debate:

·       Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

·       Councillor Val Bryant

·       Councillor Tom Tyson

Points raised in the debate included that:

·       Having standards training figures for Members was useful, further to this an anonymised update on all mandatory training for Members would be a beneficial addition to the report.

·       Subject to the changes within the English Devolution White Paper, North Herts District Council may not exist in its current form; a Unitary authority may lead to Parish Councils taking on more, therefore the National Code of Standards should be applicable at all levels of Government.

·       Looking at the complaints table the majority of the complaints come from a Parish and Town Council level and therefore that level of Government should comply with Standards Guidance.

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis proposed an additional recommendation to include the addition of mandatory training completion figures of Members as part of the report. This amendment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – LEGAL AND COMMUNITY/ MONITORING OFFICER.

The report deals with the review of the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy and any concerns raised.

RESOLVED: That the Committee

(1)    Considered and noted the Annual Report, together with the actions proposed post benchmarking.

(2)    Approved the Whistleblowing Policy, Appendix 1, in relation to anonymous allegations, as amended, as follows:

Page 30 of agenda item:

“Concerns expressed anonymously are much less powerful but will be considered at the discretion of the Monitoring Officer.”

“In exercising this discretion the factors to be taken into account would include:

·         the seriousness of the issues raised;

·         the credibility of the concern;

·         the likelihood of confirming the allegation from other sources and;

·         the reasoning behind wanting to remain anonymous.

Please remember that if you do not tell us who you are (and are therefore raising a concern anonymously) it will may be difficult for us to look into the matter…” 

(3)    Requested that the Whistleblowing Policy be included within the Code of Conduct training, which was mandatory for Members to complete.

REASONS FOR DECSION:

(1)  Good practice indicates that the Whistleblowing Policy should be reviewed annually. It affords the opportunity to comment on and improve arrangements at the Council.

(2)  To ensure Members are aware of the Whistleblowing Policy and their role within the Policy.

(3)  To use wording that encourages Council employees to use the Whistleblowing Policy as often as required.

Audio Recording – 27 minutes 5 seconds

The Monitoring Officer presented the report entitled ‘Annual Whistleblowing Policy Review’ and advised that:

·       The policy was brought to the attention Member of this Committee due to their increased remit. 

·       In accordance with best practice the policy is reviewed annually.

·       The policy was based on the guidance of the charity Protect and was adjusted to fulfil the specific needs of the Council.

·       The majority of changes for this year were minor administrative changes.

·       A benchmarking assessment carried out with Protect highlighted a need for an amendment advising staff they could go to outsider organisations.

·       Engagement was highlighted as an issue, currently this was encouraged by an annual notice in Insight and posters on each floor of the Council offices.

·       Further action was required to improve engagement. This would include whistleblowing training and named champions within the Council.

·       Last year there was no incidents of whistleblowing and the previous year there was one incident.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Emma Rowe

·       Councillor Ian Albert

·       Councillor Val Bryant

·       Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham

·       Councillor Sean Prendergast

·       Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

·       Councillor Tom Tyson

·       Councillor Alistair Wiloughby

In response to questions, the Monitoring Officer advised that:

·       The engagement rating related to how well the Whistleblowing Policy was being communicated to staff.

·       The Council would be taking the engagement rating onboard and aimed to form a Whistleblowing team. Then the policy could be updated between now and the annual review if necessary.

·       The Whistleblowing Policy was not part of the induction of new staff, but all staff sign off annually that they are aware of the Policy. the Monitoring Officer would consult further with HR on this matter.

·       The wording of the page 30, relating to anonymous reports could be altered if Members wished; however, it was not always possible to keep cases of whistleblowing anonymous and if parties were unaware of the person raising the concern, they would not attract the protection under legislation. 

·       A generic anonymous whistleblowing form could be something the Council implements in the future. 

·       The information given during a report would be kept confidential unless permission was given or an incident needed to be reported to the police.

In response to questions, the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager advised that Whistleblowing was not currently part of the Member Induction pack, but this could be added.

In response to questions, the Independent Person noted that a balance should be stuck between anonymity and protecting those being complained about, and there were sometimes legitimate grounds to remain anonymous.

Councillor Ruth Brown proposed, and Councillor Keith Hoskins seconded the motion.

The following Members took part in the debate:

·       Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

·       Councillor Ruth Brown

·       Councillor Emma Rowe

·       Councillor Val Bryant

·       Councillor Sean Prendergast

Points raised in the debate included that:

·       Whistleblowing should be part of the mandatory training for Members.

·       Councillors believe that an anonymous report form, would help staff feel more secure reporting concerns.

·       Softening the wording in paragraph 3 would help but also anonymity could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.