Agenda item

Report of the Monitoring Officer, attached.

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report on proposed changes to the process for dealing with Code of Conduct complaints.  He explained the reasons for the review that had been undertaken and highlighted some of the main changes referred to in paragraph 5.1 of the report.

Mr Ryan made it clear that the Chairman would continue to be informed of the outcome of the first stage of the process at the same time as the complainant and the subject member and that, as now, a summary report would be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee.

Mr Ryan also said, in response to questions about paragraph 19 of the proposed new procedures in Appendix 3 of the report, that it would be appropriate for members of the Committee to withdraw to consider their decision because, at that stage in the process, they would be conducting a hearing.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the proposed changes to the procedures for dealing with alleged breaches of the Council’s Code of Conduct shown as track changes in the document attached to the report be endorsed, subject to the following amendments:

·         In the final paragraph of stage 1 of the process in Part 5.02/5 (on page 15 of the Agenda) the words “involved in this process either as a subject member complainant, witness, Standards Committee member or in any other capacity” be deleted from the first and second lines and the words “or is not upheld” be added at the end of the paragraph, so that it stated

            “No Councillor should reveal any information to the media in public about a complaint which is currently being dealt with or is not upheld.”

·         That in the second line of the second paragraph in Part 5.02/5 (on page 16 of the Agenda) the word “usually” be deleted so that it read “the investigating officer will examine any available evidence of the alleged breach and will interview the complainant, the subject member and if appropriate any witnesses”.

·         In the first line of paragraph 6 in Part 5.02/7 (on page 18 of the Agenda) the words “Equalities Act 2010” be inserted in place of the deleted reference to the Disability, Discrimination Act 2000.

·         That the flowchart in Part 5.2/8 (on page 19 of the Agenda) be amended to make it clear under stage 1 of the process that any potential criminal conduct or breaches of other regulations would be “referred to the relevant authority”.

2)    That the new procedures to be followed at the pre-hearing stage of the process set out in Appendix 2 of the report be endorsed.

3)    That the new procedures to be followed at a hearing set out in Appendix 3 of the report be endorsed subject to the following amendments:

·         In the penultimate bullet point of paragraph 20 (on page 24 of the Agenda) the word “facilities” be deleted from the first line and replaced with the words “any equipment or privileges” and that at the end of the line the words “as deemed appropriate by the committee” be added so that it read:

“to withdraw any equipment or privileges provided to the subject member by the Council for a specified period of time as deemed appropriate by the Committee”.

o   That an additional bullet point be inserted in paragraph 20 stating:-

             “to instruct the Monitoring Officer to request the subject member to attend training”.

4)    That the Council be recommended to approve the proposed changes to the procedures for inclusion in Part 5.02 of the Constitution, in place of the current version.