Agenda item

Standards Regime under the Localism Act 2011

7 June 2012

 

This report seeks the approval of the Court for the transitional arrangements in respect of the City of London Corporation’s standards arrangements, following the introduction of The Localism Act 2011 (“the Act”) which will, once fully brought into force, abolish the current standards regime under the Local Government Act 2000.  There remain a number of areas that have not yet been clarified by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to enable detailed proposals to be worked up.  However, as a code of conduct must be adopted by 1 July 2012, in order to comply with statutory requirements, it is proposed that the City’s existing code of conduct (Appendix 1) be re-adopted for the time being, until such time as the regulations defining disclosable pecuniary interests have been made, and a new code of conduct reflecting these provisions can be brought to this Court for consideration and approval.  It is also recommended that a revised constitution and terms of reference for the Standards Committee be adopted from the point that section 28 of the Localism Act 2011 comes into force and that three independent persons be appointed from the point that section 28 of the Localism Act 2011 comes into force.

 

Our recommendation, supported by the Policy and Resources Committees, for a revised constitution and terms of reference can be found at Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 of the separately printed and circulated report and we recommend approval thereof.

 

Minutes:

STANDARDS COMMITTEE

(His Hon. Dr Colin Kolbert, Independent Member)

(Deputy Julian Malins, QC, Deputy Chairman)

 

Standards Regime under the Localism Act

7 June 2012

 

This report seeks the approval of the Court for the transitional arrangements in respect of the City of London Corporation’s standards arrangements, following the introduction of The Localism Act 2011 (“the Act”) which will, once fully brought into force, abolish the current standards regime under the Local Government Act 2000.  There remain a number of areas that have not yet been clarified by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to enable detailed proposals to be worked up.  However, as a code of conduct must be adopted by 1 July 2012, in order to comply with statutory requirements, it is proposed that the City’s existing code of conduct (Appendix 1) be re-adopted for the time being, until such time as the regulations defining disclosable pecuniary interests have been made, and a new code of conduct reflecting these provisions can be brought to this Court for consideration and approval.  It is also recommended that a revised constitution and terms of reference for the Standards Committee be adopted from the point that section 28 of the Localism Act 2011 comes into force and that three independent persons be appointed from the point that section 28 of the Localism Act 2011 comes into force.

 

Our recommendation, supported by the Policy and Resources Committees, for a revised constitution and terms of reference can be found at Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 of the separately printed and circulated report and we recommend approval thereof.

 

The Town Clerk explained that the printed and circulated report referred to appendices 2 and 3 which offered alternative constitutions; Appendix 2 not providing for independent members and Appendix 3 doing so. He reported that the Policy and Resources Committee had discussed the alternatives and concurred in the recommendation of the Standards Committee for the appointment of three independent persons as referred to in Appendix 3, meaning that Appendix 2 could be disregarded.

 

With that correction, the report was read and agreed to. 

 

Supporting documents: