Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed Chris Taylor (Independent Person) and Anju Sanehi (Independent Person) to the meeting.

Apologies were then received from Deputy Robin Eve and Alan Graham.

Members were informed that Anthony Williams had resigned from his position as a Co-opted Member of the Standards Committee with immediate effect and the Committee asked that its thanks to Mr Williams for his commitment to the Committee since his appointment in 2008, be noted.

There were no declarations from Members in respect of items on the agenda.

Pursuant to Standing Order No. 29, the Committee is asked to elect a Chairman.

In light of the Ward elections on 21^st March 2013 and the opportunity to appoint to the existing Court of Common Council and Co-opted Member vacancies thereafter, Members discussed the deferral of the election of a Chairman to the next meeting of the Committee in May 2013. 

In response to a query regarding future continuity of the Committee’s Chairman, it was noted that whilst this could not be guaranteed, it was hoped that the future Chairman would retain the position for some time.

RESOLVED: That-

(i)         the election of Chairman be deferred to the May meeting of the Standards Committee following the appointment to the vacancy for a Common Councilman and, subject to timescales, the appointment of a Co-opted Member; and

(ii)        in accordance with the 2011 Governance Review, those Members of the Committee wishing to stand as Chairman be invited to submit a 300 word CV for consideration by the Committee.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd November 2012.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2012 were agreed as an accurate record.

Matters arising

Dates of Future meetings

It was noted that some Members of the Committee had not received confirmation of the future meeting dates.

RESOLVED: That the dates of future Standards Committee meetings be circulated to all Members.

In accordance with the Order of the Court of 6 December 2012, the Committee are invited to review their terms of reference prior to their submission to the Court of Common Council at its meeting in April 2013.

In accordance with the Order of the Court of 6^th December 2012, and in advance of the April meeting of the Court of Common Council, the Committee reviewed its terms of reference. 

Members discussed adjusting the current quorum of the Standards Committee (three Members, at least one of whom must be a non-Common Council Member) and requested that the quorum be reviewed at the next meeting in May with a view to ensuring that the quorum included both Common Councilmen and Co-opted Member representation.  It was noted that consistency of wording across terms of references would be reviewed in advance of further consideration by the Committee.

In respect of the paragraph (c) and the Committee’s role in “keeping under review and monitoring the City of London Corporation’s Employee Code of Conduct”, it was noted that the Code had not been reviewed by the Committee and therefore the matter should be considered by the Committee at its May meeting with the Director HR invited to attend.

RESOLVED: That –

(i)        the Standards Committee approves it current terms of reference with no amendment but with a view to reviewing the quorum arrangements at a future meeting;

(ii)        that a report be submitted to the May meeting of the Standards Committee in respect of the Employee Code of Conduct to enable the Committee to review the current arrangements; and

(iii)       that the Director of HR be invited to attend the May meeting of the Committee to respond to questions in respect of the Employee Code of Conduct.  

The Standards Committee is asked to consider and approve written requests from Members of the Court of Common Council, for dispensations in relation to beneficial interest in land within the area of the City of London Corporation.

The Committee were informed that the new Standards regime, under the provisions of the Localism Act 2011, did not replicate the former general exemptions which allowed Members to vote on a number of matters in which they would otherwise have had a prejudicial interest. However, the City of London Corporation may, following a written request, grant a dispensation for a Member to take part in any discussion and vote on a matter in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest, in some circumstances.

Following the introduction of the new Standards arrangements by the City of London Corporation in October 2012, it was anticipated that the only matters likely to require dispensations were those relating to the following, where a Member has a beneficial interest in land within the area of the City of London Corporation:-

• Housing (where the Member holds a lease or tenancy from the City, as long as the matter does not relate to their particular lease or tenancy); and

• The setting of council tax or a precept under the Local Government

Finance Act 1992.

Consequently, all Members were advised in writing on 8November 2012 about the new arrangements in respect of declaring interests and invited to submit a written request for a dispensation from the Standards Committee, to allow them to speak and vote on housing and council tax issues if they have a relevant interest in land within the City.

The Comptroller & City Solicitor referred to a recent circular from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) stating that Members do not require a dispensation for council tax setting under the Localism Act 2011.  The Committee was advised that whilst acknowledging the sentiment, which was to remove red tape, the circular had no legal force.  Previous incarnations of the standards regime had

The Comptroller & City Solicitor to be heard relative to the issues that have arisen following the introduction of the new standards regime, including matters pertaining to the Code of Conduct, Members' Declarations and gifts and hospitality.

The recently circulated guidance to Members about securities is attached for information.

The Comptroller & City Solicitor was heard relative to the issues that had arisen following the introduction of the new Standards regime, including matters pertaining to the Code of Conduct, members’ Declarations and gifts and hospitality.

The Committee was advised that following the introduction of the new Standards regime, the main bulk of Member queries had been in respect of the declaration of disclosable pecuniary interests, specifically, securities.  In response to such queries, a guidance note for Members on the declaration of interests in securities, as set out at page 15, had been circulated to all Members.

The only other queries that had been received concerned the declaration of gifts and hospitality.  The issue had raised concern amongst some Members as they were mindful of the regularity that gifts and hospitality could be offered and were therefore concerned that, whilst they were not disclosable pecuniary interests, gifts and hospitality should continue to be registered.  Consequently, the Committee was asked to consider the introduction of a local arrangement concerning registration. 

The Committee discussed the introduction of a local arrangement whereby Members of the Court would be encouraged to register one-off gifts and hospitality, possibly of a higher value than previously required to reflect the nature and regularity of the gifts and hospitality that some Members were offered.  It was felt that a local arrangement should be introduced, although a number of differing views were expressed as to whether such an arrangement should be mandatory or voluntary.  The Committee agreed that as the focus should be on maximising transparency, a local arrangement for registration of gifts and hospitality should be introduced on a voluntary basis and guidance provided for Members about what was likely to constitute a breach of the Nolan principles in respect of receiving and not declaring gifts and hospitality.  Consequently,

A report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s review of best practice in promoting good behaviour in public life (January 2013) is attached for information.

The Committee considered a report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s review of best practice in promoting good behaviour in public life (January 2013). 

A Member commented on the report and reflected on how the structural circumstances of an organisation can give rise to misconduct.  However, it was noted that the organisational structure of the City of London Corporation was such that significant misconduct issues were not a consideration.  

In respect of embedding high standards in public life and the emergence of new ethical risks as a consequence of introducing new models of service delivery, it was suggested that whilst the City of London Corporation had robust systems in place to maintain high standards of behaviour, this needed to be demonstrated to the public.  It was further suggested that the issue of ethical standards in respect of service delivery, especially where contractors were engaged, should be explored in more detail to ensure consistency across the organisation and, if necessary, appropriate monitoring and review of ethical standards issues.  The Committee concurred with the points raised. 

RESOLVED: That the issue of ethical standards be considered in more detail at the May meeting of the Committee, with the Chairman of the Audit and Risk Management Committee invited to attend and comment. 

There were none.

There was no other urgent business.