Agenda item

(B) Update to the Code of Conduct – To consider amendments to the Member Code of Conduct.

For Decision

(B)Update to the Code of Conduct

At its meeting on 5 December 2019, the Court had approved that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, including the agreed working examples should be adopted the City Corporation and that this definition and working examples should also be included within both the Members’ and Officers’ Code of Conduct. The Standards Committee had since actioned this with regard to the Members’ Code of Conduct, where the IHRA definition was now  referenced within the body of the document with full details included as a separate appendix.

Further to this, and in considering Best Practice Recommendations from the Committee for Standards in Public Life at their meeting on 24 January 2020, the Standards Committee was also recommending to amend further the Members’ Code of Conduct to include definitions of the terms bullying and harassment, together with a list of examples of the sorts of behaviour covered by these definitions. Again, it was proposed that this be referenced both within the body of the main document and in greater detail in a separate appendix.

Introducing the item, the Acting Chair spoke to acknowledge concerns that had been raised with reference to the particular wording of the new “working examples” proposed and, in particular, the potential of this wording for confusion or misunderstanding associated with the second, third, sixth and ninth examples listed. The Acting Chair advised that she would not wish to proceed with the working examples in the face of Member disquiet, particularly as this model Code was to undergo further work later that year in any event. Accordingly, she sought and obtained the leave of the Court to withdraw these examples for further consideration.

The Acting Chair of the Standards Committee was aware of some concern on various working examples of behaviours regarding bullying and harassment set out within the report’s appendix – these had been adopted from the Committee on Standards in Public Life report entitled ‘Local Government Ethical Standards’ and they, in turn, were broadly taken from ACAS guidelines on bullying and harassment which are in frequent use in Employment Tribunals and also in the Equalities Act. A Member had expressed outside of the meeting some disquiet for the potential of some examples to be subject of confusion or misinterpretation.

Resolved – That the Court of Common Council adopts the updated Members’ Code of Conduct as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, subject to the deletion of the working examples as outlined during the Chair’s introduction, with immediate effect.