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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 minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2025 be approved as a correct record.
RESOLVED: That having considered the provisions of the current indemnity for Members in the context of code of conduct proceedings, in particular, whether the indemnity is clear and appropriate, the Committee supports the proposed changes and recommends to full Council.
RESOLVED: That the changes shown in Appendix B to the report be approved, subject to the inclusion of a statement on use of the protocol.
RESOLVED: That the following mitigating actions be implemented to facilitate meetings of the Standards Committee concluding by 9pm: • To start meetings at 5:30pm (or 6pm if training is scheduled for 5.30pm). • To introduce timings for each agenda item to help guide and manage the length of the meeting, noting the number of items and the opportunity to defer items to another meeting or use provisional dates if necessary.
RESOLVED: That the Forward Work Programme be noted.
RESOLVED: That the number and type of complaints be noted.
Councillor Ian Hodge declared a personal interest on Agenda Item 11 (Outcome of Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Investigation Reference 203209254).
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2025 be approved as a correct record.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2025 be approved as a correct record.
Whilst there were no urgent items, the Chair asked the Committee to consider suggested agenda items for the forthcoming National Standards Forum and Ethical Liaison Meeting. It was agreed that high-level feedback from the meeting with Group Leaders would be added to the agenda for the latter.
None received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That having considered the provisions of the current indemnity for Members in the context of code of conduct proceedings, in particular, whether the indemnity is clear and appropriate, the Committee supports the proposed changes and recommends to full Council.
The Legal Services Manager presented the report (agenda item 6) to consider the provisions of the current indemnity for members in the context of code of conduct proceedings. Additional information was included to address the points raised at the January meeting. Following debate, the Chief Officer (Governance) said that the revised document would be brought to the attention of all Members. The proposed changes shown in Appendix 1 to the report were supported. RESOLVED: That having considered the provisions of the current indemnity for Members in the context of code of conduct proceedings, in particular, whether the indemnity is clear and appropriate, the Committee supports the proposed changes and recommends to full Council.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the changes shown in Appendix B to the report be approved, subject to the inclusion of a statement on use of the protocol.
The Chief Officer (Governance) presented the report (agenda item 7) to consider suggested changes to the Flintshire Standard on expected standards of behaviour. The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales had reviewed all local resolution protocols in Wales and shared advice from counsel on their contents. The findings of the small working group established by Monitoring Officers to consider those issues were appended to the report and had been reviewed against the Council’s own local resolution protocol. A typographical error was noted in paragraph 11 of the report of the Working Group. The recommendation in the report was supported, on the basis that a statement on use of the protocol (section 6 of the checklist) is reflected within the revised Standard. RESOLVED: That the changes shown in Appendix B to the report be approved, subject to the inclusion of a statement on use of the protocol.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the following mitigating actions be implemented to facilitate meetings of the Standards Committee concluding by 9pm: • To start meetings at 5:30pm (or 6pm if training is scheduled for 5.30pm). • To introduce timings for each agenda item to help guide and manage the length of the meeting, noting the number of items and the opportunity to defer items to another meeting or use provisional dates if necessary.
The Democratic Services Manager presented a report (agenda item 8) to consider mitigating actions to facilitate future meetings of the Standards Committee. The recommendation in the report was amended to reflect the options supported by the Committee. RESOLVED: That the following mitigating actions be implemented to facilitate meetings of the Standards Committee concluding by 9pm: • To start meetings at 5:30pm (or 6pm if training is scheduled for 5.30pm). • To introduce timings for each agenda item to help guide and manage the length of the meeting, noting the number of items and the opportunity to defer items to another meeting or use provisional dates if necessary.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Forward Work Programme be noted.
The current Forward Work Programme (agenda item 9) was considered and the following actions agreed: • Feedback from the National Standards Forum and Ethical Liaison Meeting to be scheduled as appropriate. • Members of the Committee were invited to submit any future training topics that had not already been covered. • Information on the terms of office of the Committee’s independent co-opted members to be circulated on request. RESOLVED: That the Forward Work Programme be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the number and type of complaints be noted.
The Chief Officer (Governance) presented a report (agenda item 10) which summarised ethical complaints alleging a breach of the Code that had been submitted to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) since the last report. The recommendation was supported. RESOLVED: That the number and type of complaints be noted.
That the press and public be excluded from the meeting as the following item was considered to be exempt by virtue of paragraph 12 and 18c of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).
None.
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.
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