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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 Standards Committee note The Protocol for Member/ Officer Relations report.
RESOLVED that the Standards Committee confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Public Service Ombudsman Wales Annual letter for 2024/25
RESOLVED that the Standards Committee note the city, town and community Council Liaison Officer update report.
RESOLVED that the • Standards committee note the content of the report. • That the committee praise the content of the report, and that any comments be forwarded to the Monitoring Officer. • The report be presented to full Council by the chair of the standards committee.
RESOLVED that the Standards Committee note the Group leaders report update.
RESOLVED that the committee defer the discussion on Membership of the standards committee.
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 were received by Councillor Jon Harland, community Councillor Gordon Hughes and Independent Member Peter Lamb.
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 12 September 2025 were submitted. Matters of accuracy – Page 12 – it was raised; that there was small typo, at the top of the page, it should read as The Standards Committee was under a duty to prepare as annual report, rather than and a annual report. Matters arising – None. It was: RESOLVED: that subject to the above, the minutes of the meeting held on the 12 September 2025 be 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 1st September – 25th November 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 the 1st September 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 chair welcomed any members of the committee that attended any meetings to share their feedback from those meetings – Samuel Jones informed the committee that he had attended a St. Asaph city Council meeting on the 9th of July. His observations were that Declarations of Interest was a standing Item on this meeting, however, none were raised at the meeting. The chair and the clerk had appropriate and good control of the meeting. No concerns with the meeting were raised there was good constructive discussion with the members who attended the meeting. The agenda was available bilingually, and the website was clear and easy to navigate. In his absence, the chair informed the committee of meetings that Peter Lamb had attended; these were. Llandegla – 2nd of October – His observations were that the website was basic, however, it was up to date, the contact details for the Councillors were available, however, they were not bi-lingual. The meeting which he attended was well chaired and clerked, it was a respectful meeting with no concerns raised, there were also no declarations raised at the meeting. Derwen – 17th of September – Peter’s observations were that the clerk contact details on the website were all up to date, some of the information on the website was bi-lingual. The meeting was again well chaired and clerked; no declarations were raised at the meeting. There was a good discussion, and the chair was friendly and accommodating. No members of the public were in attendance. The chair also attended a meeting – Bodelwyddan Town Council on 6th November 2025. The website for the Council had ample details, however, some details would need updating. The information on the website was only partially available bi-lingually. There was good discussion at the meeting, however the observation was that previous minutes had no actions which made following earlier meetings harder without context of the meeting. The meeting had been conducted respectfully; there was good attendance by councillors with no members of the public being present. Members of the committee queried how the feedback would be shared with the city town and community councils that members of the committee had attended, officers clarified that letters would be sent to them. The committee suggested that the Community Development Officer could circulate the information to them as they had a rapport with each other. 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 Standards Committee note The Protocol for Member/ Officer Relations report.
The monitoring officer presented the Protocol on Member/Officer Relations report (previously circulated), the report referred to the Protocol on Member/Officer Relations which forms part of the Council’s Constitution; the protocol was attached as appendix 1. The Code of Conduct for Elected Members requires that councillors should treat everyone, including officers of the authority, with respect and consideration and that they should not bully or harass any person. The Code of Conduct for Employees, which was the subject of a separate report, requires officers of the authority to act with political neutrality, serving all councillors in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. The Protocol was designed to set out in more detail how the relationship between members and officers should work and to help members and officers to understand their respective roles and the framework within which they were conducted. The monitoring officer added that some elements of the protocol needed to be updated, as well as clarifying. Section 7 –‘Officer attendance at meetings not organised by the Council’ there was a balance which needed to be sought to ensure that appropriate information could be shared with relevant stakeholders. Another element of the protocol which was raised was section 12 ‘Correspondence, including e-mail’ There needed to be better practice with emails, officers needed to ensure that emails which were sent to all members were sent as BCC to ensure that 48 members did not receive too many emails which responded to the original email. Lastly section 14 was raised ‘Breaches of the Protocol’ it was raised that any issues should be dealt with the managers of the officers. It was vital that any breached were dealt with accordingly, and quickly to ensure that any issues would not escalate. Members raised the following questions – • Members raised that there had been issues with emails circulating recently relating to a in person meeting; they raised that the matter should have been dealt with quickly, or that an email from senior officers could have dealt with the matter quickly. • The committee raised the issues that social media causes, and it was suggested that a soft re-launch of the protocol could stem some of the concerns with relation to social media. • It was raised that the best place would be a council workshop were all members were invited to attend would be the best course to discuss the matter, it was also suggested that the protocol could firstly be discussed by the group leaders, which would allow the information to be shared amongst the groups. RESOLVED that the Standards Committee note The Protocol for Member/ Officer Relations report.
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RESOLVED that the Standards Committee confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Public Service Ombudsman Wales Annual letter for 2024/25
The Monitoring Officer (MO); presented the Public Services Ombudsman Annual Letter 2024-25 report (previously circulated) which relates to the Public Service Ombudsman Wales Annual Letter 2024/25. The Public Services Ombudsman Wales annually send letters to county/county borough councils, local health boards/NHS trusts and housing associations concerning the complaints that they have received and considered during the year. The aim is to provide these bodies with information to help them improve both their complaint handling and the services that they provide, a copy of the letter was attached as appendix 1 of the report however, the MO reminded the committee that only the code of conduct element fell within the remit of the Standards Committee. Regarding the code of conduct element within the letter, in 2024/25 the ombudsman received 4% less new Code of Conduct complaints than the previous year. 60% of these complaints related to members of Town and Councils. Over a half of the complaints (56% this year) related to promotion of equality and respect. The ombudsman made 15 referrals to Standards Committees or the Adjudication Panel for Wales (compared to 21 last year), within the letter the good working relationship with the monitoring officer was highlighted, and how they would continue to work with the MO to engage with them on matters relating to the ethical standards framework, including Local Resolution Procedures this year. The committee were guided to the table, which was on page 52 of the report pack, it highlighted that there 6 complaints regarding Denbighshire County Council; however, 4 were closed due to no breach and another 2 were closed due to their being no public interest in the mattes. Members discussed the following further – • The issues with the new waste rollout was raised and the damage it has caused the council relating to the public’s perception of the authority; the MO understood the comment which was raised, and felt it was a fair observation; it added a lot of pressure to the authority for members and officers, and highlighted that the matter was getting better and that all that officers and members wanted was to ensure that things would get better for their residents. • The committee were pleased to see that the complaints with the bins were acknowledged and that the Council had learned from their mistakes, and that it would take time to gain the trust of the residents back, but also there needed to be steps taken to regain the relationship between members and officers within the Council. The MO responded stating that there was an ongoing Task and Finish group which aimed to learn what happened with the rollout and clarified that senior officers were staying away from the process to ensure it was member led. RESOLVED that the Standards Committee confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Public Service Ombudsman Wales Annual letter for 2024/25
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RESOLVED that the Standards Committee note the city, town and community Council Liaison Officer update report.
The City, Town & Community Council (CTCC) Liaison Officer (LO) presented the members of the standards committee with an update presentation on the work that had been undertaken in 2025 and the work which would be carried out in 2026. The City, Town & Community Council (CTCC) Liaison Officer role was established following engagement with CTCCs and key stakeholders, leading to a two year project funded by the Council’s Budget and Transformation Board. The intention of the project was to improve working relationships between Denbighshire County Council (DCC) and CTCCs, share knowledge and expertise, strengthen communication, and maximise the impact of collaborative working. The committee were informed that by Quarter 2 of 2025, engagement had taken place with 28 Denbighshire CTCCs through enquiries and meetings, and 63 enquiries had been received via email and phone. The Liaison Officer had been invited to and had attended nine City, Town and Community Council meetings, with three further meetings planned for Quarter 3. An update meeting was also arranged on 29 September 2025 with the DCC Leader and Chief Executive, which was attended by 20 representatives from 16 councils. During the same period, three virtual information sessions were organised for CTCCs, including surgeries delivered by DCC colleagues on Climate & Nature, Internal Audit, and Procurement. These sessions were open to all clerks and CTCC councillors and were delivered via Microsoft Teams. Work also progressed on the programme of information sessions for 2026, with topics confirmed for LoRaWan Sensors (LoRaWAN sensors are low-power, long-range wireless devices used for IoT applications), Funding & Grants, the Transformation Programme, Climate & Nature, Internal Audit, and Procurement A review of the CTCC Charter was undertaken, recognising it as a mutual agreement between the two tiers of local government. The Charter outlined how both parties aimed to work together to develop and promote local needs and aspirations for the benefit of communities, while acknowledging their respective responsibilities as autonomous, democratically elected statutory bodies. Consultation sessions with CTCCs and DCC were planned as part of the review process, to be held both in person and virtually. Members discussed the following the presentation – • The committee highlighted that there needed to be good cooperation between the Council and CTCCs and were happy to see Liaison officer working hard to achieve this, the (LO) responded that it was vital to nourish a good working relationship, and that all tiers of local government needed to work together for the benefit of residents. • The charter was raised, and whether there was any mention of the standards committee and the work they carry out to assist with bridging the gap between the levels of local government; responding the committee were informed that the work of standards would be raised, and the charter would be discussed and consulted on by all relevant bodies. The Monitoring officer praised all the work that the LO had carried out and suggested that the charter and the consultation would be good to be discussed at a future Standards Committee meeting. RESOLVED that the Standards Committee note the city, town and community Council Liaison Officer update report.
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RESOLVED that the • Standards committee note the content of the report. • That the committee praise the content of the report, and that any comments be forwarded to the Monitoring Officer. • The report be presented to full Council by the chair of the standards committee.
The Monitoring Officer (MO) presented the Draft Standards Committee Annual Report 2025 (previously circulated) the report which aimed to enable the full Committee to have sight and contribute to the Committee’s Annual Report, in advance of the item being presented to the full council. The committee were informed that the report would usually be discussed at the January/February meetings of full council, however, following feedback from the standards committee the matter would be postponed until a later meeting likely in May 2026; this was to ensure that the report would be discussed properly and not overshadowed by financial discussions such as the budget. The MO informed the committee that there would be some amendments to the draft report, these had been highlighted prior to the meeting, however, if members had any observations or amendments they would be considered; and it was also added that he would happily take any correspondence with members outside of the meeting. RESOLVED that the • Standards committee note the content of the report. • That the committee praise the content of the report, and that any comments be forwarded to the Monitoring Officer. • The report be presented to full Council by the chair of the standards committee.
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RESOLVED that the Standards Committee note the Group leaders report update.
The Monitoring Officer (MO) presented the Standards committee with an update on the group leaders report, the committee were informed that the deadline for receiving the reports was the end of November, however, due to leave and other factors, officers hadn’t confirmed that all the reports had been received. However, the intention was to have the standards committee members and group leaders meet in January; and the findings could be discussed at the next Standards meeting in March 2026. No questions were raised by the committee. RESOLVED that the Standards Committee note the Group leaders report update.
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RESOLVED that the committee defer the discussion on Membership of the standards committee.
The Monitoring Officer (MO) presented the Standards Committee Terms of Reference (Membership of Standards Committee) report (previously circulated), the report referred to the membership of the Council’s Standards Committee as defined in the Terms of Reference. The current membership of the committee as set out in the Terms of Reference was composed of 7 members as follows: 4 “independent” Members, who were not either a Councillor or an Officer or the spouse of a Councillor or an Officer of this Council or any other relevant Authority as defined by the Local Government Act 2000, appointed in accordance with the procedure set out in the Standards Committees (Wales) Regulations 2001 (as amended); 2 County Councillors other than the Leader and not more than one Member of the Executive; and 1 City, Town and Community Council Member(s). The committee were informed that whether they were to decide that the membership of the committee needs to be reviewed then this would need to be agreed by the Governance & Audit Committee and Full Council. The committee stated that they did not see a merit in changing the membership of the committee however, they did not quash the matter either, they were happy to discuss the matter at a later date discussing with the entire Standards Committee, as some members had sent their apologies for the meeting. RESOLVED that the committee defer the discussion on Membership of the standards committee.
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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 6 March 2026 meeting – • Code of conduct • Annual Standards Committee Report. • Terms of reference/membership of the standards committee 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 6 March 2026 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 September 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 previous complaints remained ongoing and further information was awaited on the outcome of the investigation. The Chair thanked the Monitoring Officer for the report. RESOLVED: that the report be received and noted Meeting concluded at 11.40am
Rhaid i gynghorwyr ddweud pan fydd ganddyn nhw gysylltiad personol â rhywbeth sy'n cael ei drafod, fel swydd, eiddo neu aelod o'r teulu. Mae buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu yn ddigon cryf i'r cynghorydd adael yr ystafell fel arfer a pheidio â chymryd rhan.
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.