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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 5 September 2023 be signed as a correct record.
RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 16 January 2024 be signed as a correct record.
RESOLVED – That the review of Local Resolution Protocol be noted and that there be no changes at this time. Reason for decision To inform the Standards Committee of the operation of the Members’ Self- Regulatory Protocol and review whether any changes are required.
RESOLVED – That the current criteria for the appointment of independent members to the Standards Committee be noted and that there be no further changes recommended. Reason for decision To review the criteria for appointment of independent members to the Standards Committee.
RESOLVED – (i) That the report be noted and the suggested recruitment process endorsed. (ii) That the membership of the Selection Panel for the current recruitment process comprise of the following: Mr James Millard, Lay Panel Member Community Councillor Sonia Benbow-Jones Two independent members and one County Borough Councillor from the Standards Committee Reason for decision To ensure the Standards Committee is constituted in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.
RESOLVED - That the proposed items for inclusion in the Forward Work Programme be approved. Reason for decision To approve the list of items in the Forward Work Programme for the coming year.
RESOLVED – (i) That the verbal update be noted. (ii) That any Committee member wishing to attend the Chair’s training session on 23rd April, 2024, notify the Chief Officer Governance and Customer.
The Minutes of the Meetings held on 5 September 2023 and 16 January 2024 were submitted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 5 September 2023 be signed as a correct record.
RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 5 September 2023 be signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 16 January 2024 be signed as a correct record.
RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 16 January 2024 be signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – That the review of Local Resolution Protocol be noted and that there be no changes at this time. Reason for decision To inform the Standards Committee of the operation of the Members’ Self- Regulatory Protocol and review whether any changes are required.
The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (COGC/28/24) asking Members to review the operation of the Local Resolution Protocol and procedure adopted in September 2013 and subsequently amended in 2022. The Monitoring Officer presented the report and highlighted the main points within it. A discussion ensued and the following points were raised: · Confirmation that the Welsh Government were not intending to make it mandatory to follow a Local Resolution Protocol before issues were reported to the Ombudsman, and there were no proposals to change legislation or the model Code of Conduct to incorporate that. · Suggestion that low level intervention by the Ombudsman, for example, the Monitoring Officer meeting with elected Members to discuss any issues, tended to resolve matters. RESOLVED – That the review of Local Resolution Protocol be noted and that there be no changes at this time. Reason for decision To inform the Standards Committee of the operation of the Members’ Self- Regulatory Protocol and review whether any changes are required.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – That the current criteria for the appointment of independent members to the Standards Committee be noted and that there be no further changes recommended. Reason for decision To review the criteria for appointment of independent members to the Standards Committee.
The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (COGC/26/24) asking Members to review the criteria for appointment of Independent members to the Standards Committee. The Monitoring Officer presented the report and highlighted the main points within it. During the discussions, clarification was sought regarding the definition of independent members being “active” in local or national politics. The Monitoring Officer advised that during the application process, applicants were asked to confirm whether they were a member of any political party, or whether they were active in local politics, and this would be explored further during the interview process. Previously, this Committee felt it important to ensure there was neutrality from the independent members so that they were not going to be biased in any way. RESOLVED – That the current criteria for the appointment of independent members to the Standards Committee be noted and that there be no further changes recommended. Reason for decision To review the criteria for appointment of independent members to the Standards Committee.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – (i) That the report be noted and the suggested recruitment process endorsed. (ii) That the membership of the Selection Panel for the current recruitment process comprise of the following: Mr James Millard, Lay Panel Member Community Councillor Sonia Benbow-Jones Two independent members and one County Borough Councillor from the Standards Committee Reason for decision To ensure the Standards Committee is constituted in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.
The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (COGC/21/24) asking Members to consider the process for the recruitment of two new independent members on the Standards Committee. The Monitoring Officer presented the report and highlighted the main points within it. During the discussions, it was noted that in accordance with legislation, advertisements would be placed in two newspapers. In addition, the Monitoring Officer confirmed that as many other sources would be used as possible, such as through the Council’s Marketing and Communications Team, LinkedIn, and Social Media accounts, as well as non digital resources. It was noted that prior to a Member sitting on a Selection Panel, the Council require them to have undergone interview training. It was agreed that a training session be arranged immediately prior to the next meeting of the Committee, on 18 June 2024, to which all Members of the Committee would be invited. It was noted that advertising would take place at the end of June, followed by interviews in July, to enable a report to be presented to the Council Meeting in September recommending two new members for the Committee. RESOLVED – (i) That the report be noted and the suggested recruitment process endorsed. (ii) That the membership of the Selection Panel for the current recruitment process comprise of the following: Mr James Millard, Lay Panel Member Community Councillor Sonia Benbow-Jones Two independent members and one County Borough Councillor from the Standards Committee Reason for decision To ensure the Standards Committee is constituted in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED - That the proposed items for inclusion in the Forward Work Programme be approved. Reason for decision To approve the list of items in the Forward Work Programme for the coming year.
The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (COGC/27/24) asking Members to consider the proposed items in the Forward Work Programme for the period June 2023 to May 2024. RESOLVED - That the proposed items for inclusion in the Forward Work Programme be approved. Reason for decision To approve the list of items in the Forward Work Programme for the coming year.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – (i) That the verbal update be noted. (ii) That any Committee member wishing to attend the Chair’s training session on 23rd April, 2024, notify the Chief Officer Governance and Customer.
The Chair gave a verbal update to the Committee on the Standards Committees Chair’s Forum. In doing so, he highlighted the following points: · Code of Conduct cases had increased by 18%, as had the number of cases that had been open over 12 months. As this had had a negative impact on resources, the Senedd Finance Committee had recommended two new roles be introduced in order to reduce the backlog. · Recognition that if Local Authorities were able to follow their Local Resolution Protocols, this may assist in reducing the number of cases. · There had been discussions regarding the resourcing of Standards Committees, and how to improve engagement with the Independent Remuneration Panel going forward. · Discussions had taken place regarding different interpretations of remuneration for Standards Committee members, and also differences in the level of support that Standards Committees were provided with, such as IT equipment and dedicated email addresses. It was noted that the Chair of the Independent Remuneration Panel had been invited to the next Chairs Forum in June. · Inconsistencies regarding remuneration – some Authorities paid half or day rates, and others paid an hourly rate. · Discussions regarding whether group leaders should sit on a Standards Committee. The Monitoring Officer advised that quite often there was specific legislation about membership of committees. For Standards Committees, a group leader was allowed to be a member of the Committee and legislation didn’t prevent that from happening. · It was noted that training sessions were taking place for Standards Committee Chairs. The first session was due to take place on 23 April, and this was in regard to chairing hearings. As the current Chair’s term of office would be coming to an end this year, it was suggested that another Committee member may wish to attend instead. RESOLVED – (i) That the verbal update be noted. (ii) That any Committee member wishing to attend the Chair’s training session on 23rd April, 2024, notify the Chief Officer Governance and Customer.
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