Agenda item

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk asking that Members approve the contents of the Annual Report prior to its submission to the Court of Common Council for information in July 2020, in accordance with their terms of reference.

The Chair explained that the Standards Committee were not scheduled to meet again until October 2020 and that the primary purpose of today’s meeting was therefore to formally approve the Annual Report in the expectation that the Court of Common Council would convene again in the coming months. She invited Members comments on the document.

A Co-opted Member referred to paragraph 14 of the draft report and questioned whether the sentence suggesting that Members were able to request general dispensations to speak on all general housing matters for their entire term of office might be misleading. The Comptroller and City Solicitor highlighted that the general housing matters covered by this were clearly defined within the Dispensations Policy and suggested that reference to this or a footnote to detail those matters might usefully be added here for further clarity. The Co-opted Member welcomed this suggestion.

The Chair requested that any other comments that Members might subsequently have on the document be sent to her and the Town Clerk in writing prior to its submission to the Court of Common Council in July and that the Town Clerk be granted delegated authority to finalise the wording of the document accordingly in consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chair.

RESOLVED – That:

·         Delegated Authority be granted to the Town Clerk in consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chairman of the Standards Committee to finalise the wording of the document ahead of its referral to the Court of Common Council for information.