Agenda item

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 was accepted into the substantive motion by the original proposer Councillor Sean Prendergast and Councillor Ian Albert seconded.

As part of the debate the Parish Councillors in attendance shared their views on the applicability of Standards Guidance at their respective Parishes.

As part of the debate the Monitoring Officer advised that during the Committee of Standards and Public Life meeting that although popular, mandatory guidance at Parish and Town level was not deemed necessary at the time. This could change as part of devolution and national guidance.

As part of the debate the Independent Person suggested it was a bad idea to adjust the National Code of Standards at different levels of Government as decent behaviour should be universal for all Members regardless of the level of practice.

Having been proposed and seconded and, following a vote, the substantive motion was:

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)   Suggested the addition of mandatory training completion figures of Members (Safeguarding and Data Protection) be added to the report

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