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RESOLVED: that the contents of the report be noted.
RESOLVED: that the attendance at meeting report and the verbal report from the Chair be received and noted.
RESOLVED: that the National Standards Committee Forum update be received and noted.
RESOLVED: that the Group Leader Compliance report be received and noted.
RESOLVED: that the Gift and Hospitality Register update be noted
RESOLVED: that the Annual Governance Statement be received and noted.
RESOLVED: that subject to the above, the Forward Work Programme be noted.
RESOLVED: that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12 and 13 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.
RESOLVED: that the report be received and noted Meeting concluded at 11.40am
Apologies for absence were received from Independent Member Samuel Jones. Members discussed that the meeting was not quorate as the number of Independent Members present at the meeting was not more than the number of Elected Members.
No items of an urgent nature had been raised with the Chair prior to the commencement of the meeting.
The minutes of the Standards Committee meeting held on the 6 June 2025 were submitted. Matters of accuracy – Page 11 – Review of Policies and Procedures – paragraph two - Should read, there were a number of policies and procedures which supported the Committee in undertaking their responsibilities and not, there were a number of policies and procedures in which supported the Committee in undertaking their responsibilities as stated in the minutes. Matters arising – Page 11 – Dispensation Requests - Community Councillor Gordon Hughes requested an update on a dispensation request that had been submitted by Corwen Town Council. The Monitoring Offer stated that no dispensation request had been submitted by Corwen Town Council to the Standards Committee. It was: RESOLVED: that subject to the above, the minutes of the meeting held on the 6 June 2025be received and approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings.
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RESOLVED: that the contents of the report be noted.
A report was submitted by the Solicitor (previously circulated) on the latest case summaries contained in the ‘Our Findings’ section of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) website and the latest decisions made by the Adjudication Panel for Wales (APW). The report covered the period from 27 May – 1 September 2025. The ‘Our Findings’ section of the Ombudsman website contained a summary of those cases involving Code of Conduct complaints that had been investigated by the Ombudsman, broken down by subject matter as follows: Promotion of equality and respect 1 Duty to uphold the law 3 The Outcomes were categorised as follows: No action necessary 3 Discontinued 1 The relevant extracts from the ‘Our Findings’ page were attached to the report for ease of reference in Appendix 1 (previously circulated). None of the cases related to a Council in Denbighshire. The report also covered the period in which decisions had been made by the APW. Since 28 February 2025 there had been one decision made by the APW in relation to references from the Ombudsman and a summary of the tribunal was attached in Appendix 2 to the report (previously circulated). No questions were raised by the Committee. The Chair thanked the Solicitor for the report. RESOLVED: that the contents of the report be noted.
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RESOLVED: that the attendance at meeting report and the verbal report from the Chair be received and noted.
The Monitoring Officer guided the Committee through a report on Visits to City, Town and Community Councils. The report outlined the Standards Committee’s duty to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by Councillors and co-opted Members of County, City, Town and Community Councils within Denbighshire. Specifically, they were required to: · assist Councillors and co-opted members to observe the Members’ Code of Conduct; · monitor the operation of the Members’ Code of Conduct; · advise, train or arrange to train Councillors and co-opted members on matters relating to the Members’ Code of Conduct; · grant dispensations; · deal with any reports from a case tribunal or interim case tribunal, and any report from the Monitoring Officer on any matter referred to that officer by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales; · in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, consider such other matters as where appropriate and necessary to maintain the highest standards of conduct by the Council, its members and co-opted members. As part of this duty, Independent Members of the Committee would periodically attend local Council meetings to observe how well they were arranged and conducted, with a view of providing reassurance to the Standards Committee, and constructive feedback to the Councils would be provided on how the meetings could be improved. The Chair had attended a meeting of Aberwheeler Community Council on the 10 September 2025 and provided the following feedback to the Committee - The Council’s website was comprehensive with some sections being bilingual. The clerk’s details on the Council’s website were up to date and helpful. Finding the meeting venue could be difficult for the public as Aberwheeler Chapel had closed and several other venues in the area were being used. The Chair discussed this with the Clerk and was informed that the website would be updated. Observations of the meeting - Declarations of Interest was a standing Item on this and on all previous agendas. No declarations were made (and previous minutes over the last 12 months showed no declarations were made). No issues were observed although it was suggested that the Chair might consider giving this item more emphasis to ensure that all those present fully understood where they need to declare an interest in relation to the meeting’s agenda items, over and above any previous declarations of interest recorded. During the relevant item, the County Councillor did explain that they, as a member of the planning committee, could not comment on a planning application that was being discussed within the meeting, and was only able to give factual information about the planning process to the Community Council. The two new Council members were given relevant paperwork to complete and sign in relation to their declarations of interest. They were both attending Code of Conduct training later in September 2025. The Chair led the meeting respectfully and ensured that all other members were brought into discussions and listened to throughout the meeting. Six members were present at the meeting plus the County Councillor and one member had sent apologies. All the members present were prepared, engaged and contributed respectfully throughout the meeting. The varied backgrounds and expertise of the members became evident during discussions throughout the meeting. Training was discussed in the meeting. There was concern that training was only available online via Zoom which was inaccessible for some members and therefore face to face training was requested. Overall, there was excellent communications from the clerk throughout with a strong level of engagement from all attendees at the meeting. The Monitoring Officer explained that evening training sessions were provided over Zoom. Face to face training sessions had been arranged in the past however, these had low attendance. Face to Face training could be provided generically or if the Council had a specific issue in the future. To arrange this, the Clerk should make a request to the Monitoring Officer. Members discussed the heavy workload for Independent Members attending all City, Town and Community Councils and questioned if there was a process in place to alleviate this. The Monitoring Officer explained that visits were prioritised, for example if there was a new clerk at a Council. It was expected that all City, Town and Community Councils would have at least one visit would be carried out by each Independent Member over a Council term. The Chair added that it was intended that one visit would be carried out by each Independent Member between each meeting of the Standards Committee. RESOLVED: that the attendance at meeting report and the verbal report from the Chair be received and noted.
None.
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RESOLVED: that the National Standards Committee Forum update be received and noted.
The Chair gave a brief update to the Committee. The National Standards Committee Forum had been set up in Wales because of the recommendation made by the Penn Review on the Ethical Regime in Wales. The report (previously circulated) provided an update from the National Standards Committee Forum held on the 23 June 2025 which included notes from the meeting, a dispensation application form from Flintshire County Council, an Aide Memoire from Ceredigion County Council’s Committee Member Briefing for information and a presentation from the APW on the permission to appeal. The Chair referred to Appendix A (4a) stating that that the PSOW, following consultation with stakeholders, had from the 1 April 2025, reverted to notifying Members at the point when they had been complained about and not later in the process, when an assessment had been made if there may be a case to answer. Appendix A 4(b) of the report provided information on casework. Caseloads for code of conduct complaints were fewer than last year although the level remained high, 315 cases, compared to previous years. 60% related to Town and Community Councils (7% increase on the previous year) and 40% to Local Authorities. A lack of equality and respect was the main complaint theme. Appendix A 4(c) to the report provided information on Local Resolution Protocols (LRPs). The PSOW stressed the importance of low-level complaints to be resolved locally wherever possible which meant that matters would be dealt with quickly before relationships were affected and situations escalated unnecessarily. The more serious cases could then be dealt with by the PSOW which was a much better use of resources. The PSOW were working on developing good practice with Local Authorities including Monitoring Officers. The Monitoring Officer informed the Committee that the Council had previously responded to a consultation on informing members when a complaint was made against them and welcomed this change in practice. In relation to the Local Resolution Protocols, the PSOW conducted a survey in 2024 of all principal Councils and their Local Resolution Protocols and further guidance on reviewing and updating Denbighshire County Council’s Local Resolution Protocols was awaited. RESOLVED: that the National Standards Committee Forum update be received and noted.
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RESOLVED: that the Group Leader Compliance report be received and noted.
The Deputy Monitoring Officer guided members through the Group Leaders Compliance report (previously circulated). The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 introduced a duty on political group leaders requiring them to take reasonable steps to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by the members of their group, and to cooperate with the Council’s Standards Committee in the exercise of the Standards Committee functions. Group Leaders were subject to two statutory duties: · To promote good standards of behaviour amongst their group members. · To cooperate with the Standards Committee. The Standards Committee was under a duty to prepare and annual report in which it must comment on levels of compliance of these duties. Group leaders were expected to complete an annual report demonstrating their compliance with the Code of Conduct for Standards Committee. A template of the report was included in Appendix A of the report. The template would be circulated to group leaders in September for completion. They would be given until early October to complete and return their reports. Standards Committee will meet with each group leader during November 2025 to discuss their report, and a date for these meetings would be circulated following the meeting. [S-AH to action] A short summary of the steps taken to fulfil the duty, and any future pieces of work that may be undertaken will be included in the Standards Committee’s Annual report which will be discussed at the Committee’s meeting in December. The Chair commented that the template of the group leaders report was helpful as it clearly set out what was required and what group leaders should focus on. The Chair thanked the Deputy Monitoring Officer for the report. RESOLVED: that the Group Leader Compliance report be received and noted.
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RESOLVED: that the Gift and Hospitality Register update be noted
The Deputy Monitoring Officer gave the Committee a verbal update on the Gifts and Hospitality Register. There was a need for a review of the process currently in place for registering gifts and hospitality in the Council for Members and staff. Particularly, the process needed to be improved in relation to the register for Staff. There is a process for members to register declarations of gifts and hospitality however, this was not particularly clear, and discussions were continuing on how the process could be strengthened. A simple form in the future would be provided to staff and members which would provide a more accurate account of these declarations. This would then be reviewed on a regular basis. It was hoped that this would be ready to be implemented in the new year. The Chair thanked the Deputy Monitoring Officer for their update. RESOLVED: that the Gift and Hospitality Register update be noted
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RESOLVED: that the Annual Governance Statement be received and noted.
The Monitoring Officer gave a brief overview of the Annual Governance Statement to the Committee. The Governance and Audit Committee (GAC) had requested the Annual Governance Statement came to the attention of the Standards Committee as an agenda item in future due to Principle A (Behaving with integrity, with commitment to ethical values, and respect for the rule of law) of the Governance Framework. Principle A was the duty of both the Standards Committee and the GAC and in 2026 the Standards Committee would have the opportunity to be part of the process of developing this aspect of the Annual Governance Statement. The Chair questioned if this would be incorporated into the Committee’s Forward Work Programme. The Monitoring Officer confirmed this will be included in the Forward Work Programme for next year. Members highlighted paragraph 3.2.4 of the Statement which referred to the CTCC Liaison Officer post and requested further details on this. The Monitoring officer explained that the position had been filled for 2 years and would be reviewed going forward. The Liaison Officer would act as a single point of access for any CTCC’s that needed any support or advice. The Chair thanked the Monitoring Officer for the report. RESOLVED: that the Annual Governance Statement be received and noted.
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RESOLVED: that subject to the above, the Forward Work Programme be noted.
The Standards Committee Forward Work Programme was submitted for consideration. It was agreed that the following items be added to the Standards Committee Forward Work Programme for the 5 December 2025 meeting – · Public Service Ombudsman Annual Letter/Report · CTCC Liaison Officer Report · Draft Standards Committee Annual Report · Group Leaders Reports · Terms of Reference RESOLVED: that subject to the above, the Forward Work Programme be noted.
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RESOLVED: that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12 and 13 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.
Friday 5 December 2025 at 10am. EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC RESOLVED: that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12 and 13 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.
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RESOLVED: that the report be received and noted Meeting concluded at 11.40am
The Monitoring Officer submitted a confidential report (previously circulated) providing an overview of complaints against members lodged with the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales since 1 April 2023. The Monitoring Officer provided a summary of the minor changes notified to the Monitoring Officer since the last meeting of the Committee which included updates on two complaints together with the reasons, therefore. It was noted that one previous complaint remained ongoing and further information was awaited on the outcome of the investigation. Members questioned the process in place if complaints were duplicated. The Monitoring Officer explained this varied depending on the severity of the complaint. For many low-level complaints, the Local Resolution Policy was often referred to which dealt with those complaints. The Chair thanked the Monitoring Officer for the report. RESOLVED: that the report be received and noted Meeting concluded at 11.40am
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Caiff datganiadau eu darllen o'r cofnodion unwaith y byddan nhw wedi'u cyhoeddi.
Dyw'r cyngor ddim wedi cofnodi presenoldeb ar gyfer y cyfarfod hwn.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.