Agenda item

The Chairman to be heard.

This Item was taken before Item 6 to facilitate discussion on the Committee’s Terms of Reference.

The Chairman reported that, since the last meeting of the Standards Committee, Mr Bourne’s report had been received and was submitted to the Court of Common Council and also circulated to all Co-opted Members and Independent Persons serving on this Committee. The Chairman stated that he felt that the report was, in his view, very well put together and that Mr Bourne had engaged with all of the right people in producing it.

The Chairman went on to inform the Committee that the report had been submitted to the January 2017 Court of Common Council meeting with a covering report from this Committee suggesting that they be permitted to now examine the report in further detail and report back to the Court as to how the recommendations within it might best be implemented at a later date. A counter proposal had, however, been made at the Court meeting suggesting that it would be more appropriate for a separate Working Party (to be drawn up by a Panel consisting of the Chairman of the Standards Committee, the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee, the Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen and the Chief Commoner) to undertake this task.

The Chairman reported that this Panel had subsequently met and had decided on a list of 10 Members (2 Aldermen and 8 Common Councilmen) who should be invited to serve on the new Working Party.  It was confirmed that there was no specified date on which the new Working Party should report back to the Court with their recommendations at present.

The Chairman invited the Committee’s views on the report at a high level.  

A Co-opted Member stated that he was concerned that the newly appointed Working Party considering Mr Bourne’s report did not lose the benefit of the experience of this Committee’s Co-opted Members and Independent Persons as it would be important for the Court to also take into account their views. The Chairman reported that he had proposed the inclusion of a number of Standards Committee Members (including Co-opted Members) on the new Working Party but that this proposal had not been supported by other Members of the Appointment Panel. He added that it would, however, be up to the new Working Party who they wanted to consult with and engage in the review process at various stages.

Mr Hayward, who had been appointed to serve on the new Working Party, took on board the co-opted Member’s points and stated that he felt there would be real merit in hearing from this Committee’s Co-opted Members and Independent Persons as part of the review process. He stated that he would be strongly suggesting to the Working Party that they permit this input. The Chairman reminded Members that all of the City’s Co-opted Members would be affected by the outcome of the review given that all were subject to the same Code of Conduct.

In response to questions from Co-opted Members regarding the discussion at the recent Court of Common Council meeting around this item, the Deputy Chairman reported that, whilst the majority of elected Members had not taken a view, it had been used by some to champion the abolishment of the Standards Committee and the current standards regime.

An Independent Person commented that he felt the recommendation within Mr Bourne’s report regarding the future interaction of the Independent Persons with this Committee was unfortunate. He stated that the Standards Committee met relatively infrequently and that, if Independent Persons were to cease attending these meetings, their involvement with its work would become extremely remote.

The Deputy Chairman agreed with this view. He added that, on the whole, he felt that Mr Bourne’s report was well thought out and that the majority of the recommendations put forward were sensible. The report had made it clear that it was important to have a strong and effective Standards regime going forward whilst also clearly identifying areas for improvement without totally overturning the current system.

Other Members agreed with this view. It was suggested that, with regard to the future engagement of Independent Persons, it might be considered appropriate to develop a formal protocol regarding their input at future Standards Committee meetings.

A Co-opted Member went on to highlight a second area of concern within Mr Bourne’s report which would involve the Monitoring Officer undertaking the initial assessment of any complaints received. He stated that he felt that this would put the Monitoring Officer under a lot of pressure and in an invidious position as an Officer of the City Corporation sitting in judgement of its elected Members. He stated that he felt that it was much more appropriate for Members to sit in judgement of other Members and that this might be done by way of a panel advising the Monitoring Officer going forward. Other Members agreed with these concerns and suggested that the initial assessment of complaints could also be outsourced where appropriate going forward.

The Comptroller and City Solicitor clarified that he had made no representations to Mr Bourne regarding policy matters but stated that the two recommendations highlighted by this Committee were the two that he would also have some concerns around.

The Chairman highlighted that it may be that the Working Party would refer some matters to the Standards Committee going forward or ask for them to feed in to the review process in some way.

Members confirmed that, aside from the two areas of concern they had highlighted, they were generally content with and welcomed Mr Bourne’s report and its recommendations which they felt would serve the City Corporation very well in future.