Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Revd Dr Martin Dudley and Felicity Lusk (Co-opted Member), as well as Mr Neil Asten (Independent Person).

There were none.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 29^th November 2013.

The minutes of the meeting held on 29^th November 2013 were approved as an accurate record.

Matters Arising

Item 3: Matters Arising – AOB: Internal Mechanisms (page 1)

The Chairman advised the Committee that the Chief Commoner, George Gillon would be joining the Committee later.

Item 5: Employee Code of Conduct (page 2)

The Town Clerk advised the Committee that following the meeting on 29th November 2013, the Member/Officer Protocol had been located and a discussion would now take place with the Director of HR in respect of referencing the Protocol within the Employee Code of Conduct.  The Chairman commented on ownership of the Protocol and suggested that as the Protocol concerned Members’ conduct, this should fall within the Committee’s remit.  It was agreed that the matter be clarified.

It was noted that as part of the Director of HR’s annual review report to the Committee in respect of Employee Code of Conduct, this would include employee tribunal statistics.

The Committee is asked to review their terms of reference, and those of its Sub Committees, ahead of the reappointment of Committees by the Court of Common Council in May 2014.

The terms of reference of the Standards Committee and the Sub Committees are attached at Appendix 1.

The Committee considered, as part of the annual review process ahead of the new municipal year, its terms of reference as attached at appendix 1 to the report.  Members noted that any proposed revisions to the Committee’s terms of reference would be submitted to the Policy & Resources Committee ahead of submission of the “White paper” (incorporating the terms of reference and composition of all of the Court of Common Council’s committees) in May 2014. 

The Deputy Chairman queried the relevance of retaining paragraph (c) of the Committee’s terms of reference (Employee Code of Conduct) given the earlier discussions and clarification regarding the Establishment and Standards Committees’ respective remits for the Employee Code of Conduct.  Whilst noting that the Committee was not responsible for formulating the Employee Code of Conduct, there was some agreement amongst Members that the Committee performed an important role in monitoring and considering changes to the Code on an annual basis.  The Chairman referred to the Member/Officer Protocol and, subject to clarification regarding ownership of the Protocol, it was suggested that this should in some way be referenced within the Committee’s terms of reference.  

The Committee was advised that paragraph (g) of the terms of reference (politically restricted posts) before Members was no longer relevant as this requirement had been removed by statute.  Consequently, the future terms of reference would not include this paragraph.

With regards to the terms of reference of the Committee’s Sub Committees, it was noted that paragraph (c) – Hearing Sub (Standards) Committee should be revised to remove reference to “...sanctions that are available, as set out below.”

Taking into account the comments made by Members the Committee agreed that delegated authority should be granted to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Standards Committee, to

A report of the Town Clerk and the Comptroller and City Solicitor relative to the introduction of a mandatory regime for all Members of the Court of Common Council and Co-opted Members in respect of the registration of gifts and hospitality.

The existing Code of Conduct is attached Appendix 1.  Appendix 2 sets out, in tracked changes, those revisions that were proposed at the 29th November 2013 meeting of the Standards Committee.  Appendix 3 sets out a revised Code of Conduct incorporating all of the proposed changes. 

(The Chief Commoner was present during the discussion on this item.)

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk and the Comptroller & City Solicitor relative to the introduction of a mandatory regime for all Members of the Court of Common Council and Co-opted Members in respect of the registration of gifts and hospitality, following the Committee’s earlier consideration of this matter at its meeting on 29th November 2013.  Included in the recommended amendments set out in appendix 3 of the report, was a list of bodies that should be declared as non-pecuniary interests, namely Professional Associations, Trade Associations, and Trades Unions.

The Chairman expressed a view that this list of organisations was too limited given the broad range of organisations in which City of London Members were involved. He also reflected that in the previous Code of Conduct, Members had been expected to register a more substantial list and he tabled a note that he had prepared containing further amendments to those included at appendix 3 of the report. The Chairman’s suggested amendments concerned, principally, the declaration of membership of the following:

•           Charities or bodies directed to charitable purpose,

•           Clubs or Societies having a base of operation in the City of London (e.g. Ward Clubs), which has two or more Members or Officers of the Corporation in membership (e.g. the Reform Club); or which relates to any functions of the Corporation (e.g. the Heath and Hampstead Society);

•           Fraternal or Sororal Societies;

•           Livery Companies;

•           Organisations, one of whose principal purposes includes the influence of public    

           opinion or policy; and

•           Political Parties.

The Chairman in making these suggestions advised that some other local authorities, including London Boroughs, had retained similar provisions in their Codes of Conduct.

The Comptroller & City Solicitor provided clarification in respect of

A verbal update by the Town Clerk relative to the appointment of Co-opted Members to fill existing and forthcoming vacancies on the Standards Committee.

The Town Clerk provided a verbal update for the Committee in respect of the recruitment and selection arrangements to fill existing and forthcoming Co-opted Member vacancies on the Standards Committee.  Members were advised that in light of Alan Graham’s term of office expiring at the end of March 2014, two vacancies were currently being advertised on the City of London Corporation’s webpages with a deadline of 24^th February 2014 for receipt of completed applications.  It was noted that following the advert going live on 20^th January 2013, three expressions of interest had been received and application packs circulated.  Members noted that interviews were currently expected to take place in mid-March 2014 involving the agreed Selection Panel which consisted of the Chief Commoner, the Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee and the Chairman of the GP Committee of Aldermen (or their representatives).

 With reference to the current Selection Panel composition for the purposes of short-listing and interviewing applicants for Co-opted Member roles on the Standards Committee, the Chairman expressed some concern that the arrangement was now outdated, having been agreed by the Court of Common Council in 2000 when the new Standards Committee was established.  Members noted that the Police and the Audit and Risk Management Committees, both of which comprised of a number of Co-opted Members, had revised their selection panel arrangements in recent years to allow for the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of those Committees to participate in the selection activities.  The Committee agreed that this was a logical approach and there was consensus that a revision to the panel composition, for the purposes of selecting Co-opted Members of the Standards Committee, should be recommended to the Court of Common Council for approval.

RESOLVED:- That –

(i)        the Standards Committee be updated about recruitment and selection

           arrangements

There were none.

Thanks to Alan Graham (Co-opted Member)

In advance of his term of office expiring at the end of March, on behalf of the Committee the Chairman thanked Alan Graham, one of the Committee’s long serving Co-opted Members, for his nine years of service and valuable contributions to the work of the Standards Committee.