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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that dispensation be granted under Regulations 2(2)(d), 2(2)(e), 2(2)(f), 2(2)(g) and 2(2)(h) of the Standards Committees (Grant of Dispensation) (Wales) Regulations 2001 to Councillor Edward Thomas to speak and make written representations but NOT vote on business at meetings of the County Council, particularly any Cabinet decision relating to or likely to affect the former school site of Ysgol Tregib and the dispensation be valid until the end of the current electoral term.
RESOLVED that the Protocol be noted, subject to further approval.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the arrangements for the Code of Conduct Training provided for Town and Community Councillors, as detailed within the report, be approved.
RESOLVED that, subject to the revisions outlined above, the questions detailed within the report be endorsed for the annual Town and Community Councils Code of Conduct data gathering exercise.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the Forward Work Programme for 2026/2027, subject to the proposed amendments, be adopted.
No apologies of absence were received.
No declarations of interest were expressed.
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on the 25th November 2025 be signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
The Committee received a report detailing the progress made on actions, requests, and referrals that had been identified during their previous meetings. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that dispensation be granted under Regulations 2(2)(d), 2(2)(e), 2(2)(f), 2(2)(g) and 2(2)(h) of the Standards Committees (Grant of Dispensation) (Wales) Regulations 2001 to Councillor Edward Thomas to speak and make written representations but NOT vote on business at meetings of the County Council, particularly any Cabinet decision relating to or likely to affect the former school site of Ysgol Tregib and the dispensation be valid until the end of the current electoral term.
The Committee considered an application from County Councillor Edward Thomas for dispensation under the Standards Committees (Grant of Dispensations) (Wales) Regulations for permission to speak and submit written representations in relation to Council business, particularly any Cabinet decision relating to, or potentially affecting, the former Ysgol Tregib school site. As a member of the Council's Cabinet and an unpaid director of Tregib Sports Facilities Ltd, who uses some of the facilities located on the site, this would constitute a personal interest in any Council business relating to this by virtue of paragraphs 10(2)(a)(ix)(bb) of the code. Therefore, a member of the public aware of this connection may reasonably conclude that it would influence Councillor Thomas' judgment when considering such business. As per the report, dispensation was sought on multiple bases of the Standards Committees (Grant of Dispensations) (Wales) Regulations 2001, namely: · That their participation would not damage public confidence. · That their interest is common to themselves and a significant proportion of the public. · Their role or expertise justifies their participation in the business. · The business is to be considered by an overview and scrutiny committee. · The business relates to the finances or property of a voluntary organisation of which they are a member, and they have no other interest. The Committee were advised that if they were to grant Councillor Thomas' request, they would also need to determine the duration of that dispensation. Following a discussion, the Committee: UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that dispensation be granted under Regulations 2(2)(d), 2(2)(e), 2(2)(f), 2(2)(g) and 2(2)(h) of the Standards Committees (Grant of Dispensation) (Wales) Regulations 2001 to Councillor Edward Thomas to speak and make written representations but NOT vote on business at meetings of the County Council, particularly any Cabinet decision relating to or likely to affect the former school site of Ysgol Tregib and the dispensation be valid until the end of the current electoral term.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Protocol be noted, subject to further approval.
As requested at its previous meeting, the Committee received a report on the amended draft of the protocol for dealing with low-level complaints between members. The Committee were reminded that the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) expects local authorities to adopt a protocol for resolving low-level complaints between members to help reduce the overall number of complaints referred to the Ombudsman. Following consultation with Group Leaders to discuss the amendments to the protocol, all proposed changes were agreed upon, with one addition: the inclusion of a provision that allows Group Leaders to delegate responsibility for resolving complaints to a nominated representative. Although the protocol would require approval by the wider Council, the Legal Services Manager, in presenting the report, noted that they would liaise with the Monitoring Officer to ascertain whether it would necessitate full approval by the Council and the Constitutional Review Working Group (CRWG). UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Protocol be noted, subject to further approval.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
As resolved at its March 2025 meeting, the Committee received a report outlining the annual code of conduct breaches reported to the Monitoring Officer during the year that had not been referred to the Adjudication Panel for Wales (APW) or the Committee. From the 1st April 2025 to the date of the report's publication, the Monitoring Officer was notified of 8 complaints in total, which had been anonymised for the Committee's review. The Committee were also apprised that during the period covered by the report, the Ombudsman had changed their usual practice of notifying Monitoring Officers at the conclusion of cases to notifying them at the beginning. The Committee had the following questions or comments: · In response to a question about whether the Ombudsman had specific timelines for decisions on complaints, the Legal Services Manager clarified that specific timescales did not bind the PSOW for responses or decisions. · As to whether the complaints could include information on whether they relate to Town and Community or County Councillors, the Legal Services Manager noted that this could be incorporated and would be reflected in future reports for review by the Commissioner. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the arrangements for the Code of Conduct Training provided for Town and Community Councillors, as detailed within the report, be approved.
In accordance with the Standards Committee's terms of reference, consideration was given to a report outlining the proposed provision and delivery of Code of Conduct training for Town and Community Councillors for 2026. As highlighted in the report, the approach adopted by the Committee for 2025 functioned effectively. Therefore, a similar approach was proposed for the upcoming year, with the expected arrangements as follows: · The session is to be held in June or July, with the date to be confirmed. · That the session be held during working hours via Zoom. · That the session be recorded and made available to Councils for dissemination to their members, with copies of the training materials. · The session is to be based on the training materials used in 2025, but updated to reflect the most recent Adjudication Panel Decisions. Although primarily tailored to Town and Community Council members, it was also proposed that the training be advertised to all County Councillors. In relation to a discussion on the training arrangements, it was proposed that, as part of the questions included in the report for Agenda Item 9, an additional question to ascertain Town and Community Councils' preferred training method would be included in the questionnaire. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the arrangements for the Code of Conduct Training provided for Town and Community Councillors, as detailed within the report, be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that, subject to the revisions outlined above, the questions detailed within the report be endorsed for the annual Town and Community Councils Code of Conduct data gathering exercise.
As part of the annual request for data from Town and Community Councils on code of conduct compliance by their members, the Committee received a report from the Legal Services Manager on the data-gathering exercise for the upcoming year. The Committee reviewed the proposed questionnaire appended to the report, which pertains to issues including Declarations of Interest and Code of Conduct training, and had been updated to reflect feedback from previous exercises. It was proposed that the questionnaire would be issued electronically, with a target date for responses of 1st June 2026, and that the findings would be reported to the Committee at its September 2026 meeting in accordance with the Forward Work Plan (FWP). As proposed during consideration of Agenda Item 8, to ascertain each Town and Community Councils' preferred training method would be included in the questionnaire. During the review of the questionnaire appended to the report, additional questions on the following themes were raised by the Committee to be included: · The current number of vacancies on each Town and Community Council, upon submission of the questionnaire, including how many co-opted members are part of each Council. · The turnover rate for members experienced by each Town and Community Council. · Due to the array of provision available by different organisations, what training did each Town and Community Council attend in relation to Code of Conduct compliance. The Legal Services Manager noted that the questions would be amended to include the proposed additions, with the new questionnaire to be circulated to the Committee for informal feedback before it is issued for responses. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that, subject to the revisions outlined above, the questions detailed within the report be endorsed for the annual Town and Community Councils Code of Conduct data gathering exercise.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
The Committee received a report detailing the latest findings of the APW and the PSOW regarding published code of conduct complaints. The information outlined in the report provides the Committee with points of learning when implementing the code and providing training to councillors. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Forward Work Programme for 2026/2027, subject to the proposed amendments, be adopted.
The Committee considered a draft FWP for 2026/2027, which identified the key reports it should expect to receive at its scheduled quarterly meetings. The draft FWP proposed two key amendments to the previous municipal year's programme, as noted below: · The statutory meeting between the Committee and the Council’s political group leaders is scheduled for the June meeting. · An annual report proposed to be drafted regarding code of conduct complaints notified to the Monitoring Officer during the preceding year, which had not been referred to the APW or the Committee. As these complaints did not require any further action by the Ombudsman, the report would be anonymised and indicate: · The part of the code to which each complaint related. · The nature of the complaint. · The Ombudsman’s decision in relation to that complaint. · The reasons for that complaint. In considering the report presented by the Legal Services Manager, the Committee agreed that the 'Annual report on Code of Conduct Complaints' be moved to be considered during its June meeting, for the full scale of complaints received for the municipal year to be captured. In relation to a question raised by the Committee on whether subjects for periodical review, such as the Whistleblowing Policy and Gifts and Hospitality Policy, could be included on the programme, the Legal Services Manager noted that whistleblowing was no longer part of the Committee's statutory functions. A report on Gifts and Hospitality was agreed to be included for the Committee's consideration at its June meeting. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Forward Work Programme for 2026/2027, subject to the proposed amendments, be adopted.
No items of urgent business were raised.
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED pursuant to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007 that the following item was not for publication as the report contained exempt information as defined in Paragraph 12 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.