Agenda item

Report of the Town Clerk (TO FOLLOW).

The Committee considered a separately circulated report of the Town Clerk setting out the main points raised by Members at an informal meeting of the Standards Committee held on 3 April 2019 following the resignation of a Co-opted Member of the Committee and calling for wider discussion amongst the Committee on these.

The Deputy Chairman stated that she felt that there had been a significant amount of unfairness in terms of the treatment of all Members of the Standards Committee, but particularly its Co-opted Members in recent months. She expressed particular concerns around matters being raised at the Court of Common Council, in public session, where Co-opted Members had no opportunity to respond. Wider concern was also expressed around the fact that Members were able to put a Motion to the Court asking for the removal of a Member from a Committee without the Committee in question receiving prior notice of this or being given the ability to address concerns. This often meant that the Court were not provided with all of the necessary facts or recommendations from relevant Committees/Officers. The Chairman agreed that this was something that needed further consideration.

A Co-opted Member stated that there seemed to be a need for the wider Court to be educated as to the role of Co-opted Members in general. He went on to question the appropriate use of the Corporation’s email system and whether recent emails had been in breach of the organisation’s fair use policy. He hoped that this matter would be addressed. Members agreed that there should be sanctions in place around this behaviour in the same way that there would be for many Members acting in their professional capacities. The Chairman underlined that this should be viewed as a reputational risk not only to those individuals engaging in the behaviour but also to the Corporation. She underlined that these email chains were sent to elected Members only, with Co-opted Members (of any Committee) not given sight of these. There would also appear to be a question around the appropriate processing of individuals details. The Chairman suggested that it would be useful for this Committee to consider a future report as to appropriate/inappropriate Member email use.

In relation to the possibility of this Committee requesting that the Audit and Risk Management Committee consider adding ‘Standards issues’ to its risk register, the Committee questioned whether the types of issues being discussed were wider than the Standards Committee in terms of appropriate email use, inappropriate behaviour in general and the processing of personal information. A Co-opted Member seconded this view and questioned whether recent events were symptomatic of something wider and a cultural resistance to the Standards regime per se in some quarters.

The Town Clerk clarified that there was a hierarchy in terms of risk with both Corporate and Departmental Risk Registers in existence. It was suggested that the risk might therefore be more appropriately included on the Comptroller and City Solicitor’s departmental risk register. A Member clarified that an information security risk already featured on the Corporate risk register.

RESOLVED – That:-

(i)            A future report concerning the appropriate use of email by Members be considered by the Standards Committee;

(ii)           The Committee request a report back on the potential of amending Standing Orders to ensure that any future Motion calling for the removal of a Member from a Committee should not go directly to the Court of Common Council without the Committee concerned being notified of/able to consider the matter in advance;

(iii)          The Standards Committee seek the views of the Audit and Risk Management Committee on any matters it considers to have risk aspects going forward.