Agenda item

The Director of Legal and Governance submitted a report to provide the Committee an overview of the work of the Standards and Personnel Appeals Committee during 2018/19.

Summary and update of Member Complaints received during 2018/19

A summary of current Member complaints was presented to the Committee. The Director of Legal and Governance noted that work was continuing with Selston Parish Council in order promote positive behaviours at the Council, and advised that while this work was being effective and would continue for the foreseeable future, that this support would not be able to be offered indefinitely.

Member attendance

Following a recommendation from the Independent Remuneration Panel in 2016/17 it had been agreed that an element of the Councillor’s annual allowance (£500) would be related to attendance at meetings and mandatory training sessions with a minimum achievement of 70%. The officer’s report noted that for 2018/19 only two out of 35 members had less than 70% attendance at the time the report was produced.

Member induction 2019

Members of the Committee considered the draft Member Induction Programme/Training Programme for implementation following the District Elections on 2 May 2019. It was noted that the induction had been designed for both new and returning Councillors and aimed to equip them with the knowledge and skills that would enable them to successfully fulfil the role of a District Councillor. It was noted that the draft programme had been developed taking into account lessons learned from previous induction programmes and would be delivered over a shorter time period than in previous years as this approach would enable Councillors to start settling into, and performing their roles more quickly. It was noted that after the initial training period further ongoing training would be delivered. The Chairman and Members of the Committee welcomed and were supportive of the redesigned and refreshed induction process.

Members’ IT

Members of the Committee were advised that the preferred IT option for the new intake of Councillors was iPads with Bluetooth keyboards as they were both a cost effective and functional solution. Members of the Committee welcomed the proposal and noted that while iPads were not a perfect IT solution as the word processing app could be better, they were the best all-round solution to meet Councillors’ needs, both in and outside of meetings. Members also agreed that as Wi-Fi was becoming more readily available that it was not necessary for all the iPads to be supplied with SIM cards.

Committee on Standards in Public Life – Report on Local Government Ethical Standards

The Director of Legal and Governance provided the Committee with an overview of the Committee on Standards in Public Life – Report on Local Government Ethical Standards. It was noted that while many of the proposals would require the implementation of primary legislation, the report included many suggestions of best practice which could be adopted by the Council. Members of the Committee welcomed the report and were in agreement that the Localism Act 2011 had not been effective, especially with regard to sanctions, and that it would be beneficial for the report to be added to the committee’s workplan for 2019/20 to enable discussion on how it’s suggestions could potentially be implemented.

The Chairman thanked Members of the Committee and the Director of Legal and Governance for their work and support over the past year.

RESOLVED

a)    that the progress made in relation to the agreed 2018/19 work plan be noted.

b)    that further consideration of the Committee on Standards in Public Life – Report on Local Government Ethical Standards, be added to the Committee’s workplan for 2019/20.

c)    the number of Member complaints received during the year, as summarised in the officer’s report, as well as the current outstanding complaints be noted.

d)    that the position in relation to the attendance of Councillors at Member level meetings be noted.

e)    that to the arrangements being made for Member Induction and for Member IT equipment be noted and supported.

REASON FOR DECISIONS

To enable the Committee to carry out its role in monitoring ethical governance.