Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

The Chair

(a)       opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and introduced the attending Councillors and Officers, highlighting that the attending Parish Council Representative could give their opinion on each of the matters for consideration but could not vote on proposed recommendations;

(b)       confirmed that the Monitoring Officer would advise on procedural matters together with the Senior Solicitor;

(c)        stated that the purpose of this Sub Committee was to consider the information presented, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and the Council`s processes and make a decision regarding the action to be taken on each matter.  The three options available to the Sub Committee were :-

•        No action to be taken

•        The complaint be referred for other action such as training, support, mediation

•        The complaint be referred for further investigation

Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest. 

Councillor Chandler’s role as a Bottesford Parish Councillor was noted.  She confirmed that she had not been present at the Ordinary Council meeting of Bottesford Parish Council on 9 January 2017 and had an open mind on matters for consideration at this meeting.

The Monitoring Officer to submit a report.

(Appendices A, B, C, E and F to this report are also relevant to the reports for Agenda items 4, 5, 6 and 7.)

The Monitoring Officer submitted and presented a report (copies of which had previously been circulated to Members and it was confirmed that Members had had the opportunity to read the papers fully) which enabled the Committee to consider the complaint received from Mr. D. Daly regarding the conduct of a Parish Councillor and to consider what action should be taken from the following :-

•      No Action

•      Other Action such as training, support, mediation

•      Refer for Investigation

She further advised that where relevant, all the appendices relating to each complaint under consideration at the meeting may be referenced when considering any of the complaints, due to the original complaint against each Parish Councillor being the same document.

A Member expressed concern about disparities between the Code of Conduct of this Council and that of the Parish Councils.  They highlighted that the rules regarding Declarations of Interest were not closely adhered to at Parish Council meetings and stated with regards to this, ‘if in doubt, go out’ was the correct action to take.  The Member further commented that the Subject Parish Councillor had possibly been very naive with regards to his inaction, adding that the Chair or Parish Clerk should have advised him to declare a pecuniary interest and leave the meeting.

The Parish Council Representative stated that they felt, in general, Parish Council guidance paperwork was too lengthy and intricate to adhere to without error and although training was available from the Parish Council Association, some further points of guidance from this Council were welcomed.

A Member drew attention to Complaint GOV 44, appendix D and stated that Bottesford was a small village, in which residents knew each other.  This should have some bearing on the consideration of this matter.

Members asked for clarification with regards to the apparent contradiction of statements within Complaint GOV 44, appendix D and the Monitoring Officer advised that the statement had been checked with the Councillor who had provided the statement and they had confirmed its accuracy.

A Member reiterated an earlier comment by another Member, stating that the Chair and Parish Clerk should have given the Subject Parish Councillor an opportunity to declare a pecuniary interest by highlighting his father in law had submitted an estimate.

Another Member stated that Councillor Shephard had intimated in her statement that the Subject Parish Councillor had discussed this matter with the LRALC.  They queried why the Subject Parish Councillor would have done this, as his statement had confirmed he was unaware of his father in law’s involvement.  The Monitoring Officer clarified her understanding to be that the Subject Parish Councillor had stated that he was not aware of his father in law’s involvement in this particular matter but had sought advice form the LRALC previously, due to his father in law’s on-going work for Bottesford Parish Council.

The Member further commented that the Subject Parish Councillor’s father in law was a main contractor for Bottesford Parish Council and they could understand the complainant’s concerns.  ...  view the full minutes text for item G3

The Monitoring Officer to submit a report.

The Monitoring Officer submitted and presented a report (copies of which had previously been circulated to Members and it was confirmed that Members had had the opportunity to read the papers fully) which enabled the Committee to consider the complaint received from Mr. D. Daly regarding the conduct of a Parish Councillor and to consider what action should be taken from the following :-

•      No Action

•      Other Action such as training, support, mediation

•      Refer for Investigation

She further advised that where relevant, all the appendices relating to each complaint under consideration at the meeting may be referenced when considering any of the complaints due to the original complaint against each Councillor being the same document.

Members noted that the Subject Parish Councillor had obtained the quotes and estimate from contractors and that the he had not opted to resolve this matter informally with the complainant.

A Member commented that this matter was very similar to the previous one.  The Senior Solicitor advised that this matter must be treated with the correct merits and Members should not feel that the previous decision ‘tied their hands’ over reaching a resolution on this matter.

Members agreed that the integrity of the Subject Parish Councillor was not in question, commenting that thhe had taken ‘admirable’ action to obtain the quotes and estimate because these had not been forthcoming to the Parish Clerk.  However, it was felt by Members that this resulted in a mishandling of the correct procedure for obtaining quotes, as it was the responsibility of Parish Clerks, not Councillors to do this.  The Senior Solicitor advised that the appropriateness could only be determined by examining the Bottesford Parish Council’s standing orders.

Members again noted the importance of managing residents’ money responsibly.

Other Action of training on Declarations of Interest and Procurement processes, with this Council being involved in the training was proposed by Councillor Beaken and seconded by Councillor Blase.  On being put to the vote, Members were unanimously in favour.

RESOLVED that ‘Other Action’ be recommended to the Parish Council as follows:-

•      the Subject Parish Councillor receive training on Declarations of Interest and Procurement processes.  The Parish Council be requested to involve this Council is the training.

The Monitoring Officer to submit a report.

The Monitoring Officer submitted and presented a report (copies of which had previously been circulated to Members and it was confirmed that Members had had the opportunity to read the papers fully) which enabled the Committee to consider the complaint received from Mr. Daly regarding the conduct of a Parish Councillor and to consider what action should be taken from the following :-

•      No Action

•      Other Action such as training, support, mediation

•      Refer for Investigation

She further advised that where relevant, all the appendices relating to each complaint under consideration at the meeting may be referenced when considering any of the complaints due to the original complaint against each Councillor being the same document.

Following debate, Other Action of training on Declarations of Interest and Procurement processes, with this Council being involved in the training was proposed by Councillor Chandler and seconded by Councillor Beaken.  On being put to the vote, Members were unanimously in favour.

RESOLVED that ‘Other Action’ be recommended to the Parish Council as follows:-

•      the Subject Parish Councillor receive training on Declarations of Interest and Procurement processes.  The Parish Council be requested to involve this Council is the training.

The Monitoring Officer to submit a report.

The Monitoring Officer submitted and presented a report (copies of which had previously been circulated to Members and it was confirmed that Members had had the opportunity to read the papers fully) which enabled the Committee to consider the complaint received from Mr. D. Daly regarding the conduct of a Parish Councillor and to consider what action should be taken from the following :-

•      No Action

•      Other Action such as training, support, mediation

•      Refer for Investigation

She further advised that where relevant, all the appendices relating to each complaint under consideration at the meeting may be referenced when considering any of the complaints due to the original complaint against each Councillor being the same document.

Following debate, Other Action of training on Declarations of Interest and Procurement processes, with this Council being involved in the training was proposed by Councillor Chandler and seconded by Councillor Beaken.  On being put to the vote, Members were unanimously in favour.

RESOLVED that ‘Other Action’ be recommended to the Parish Council as follows:-

•      the Subject Parish Councillor receive training on Declarations of Interest and Procurement processes.  The Parish Council be requested to involve this Council is the training.

The Monitoring Officer to submit a report.

The Monitoring Officer submitted and presented a report (copies of which had previously been circulated to Members and it was confirmed that Members had had the opportunity to read the papers fully) which enabled the Committee to consider the complaint received from Mr. D. Daly regarding the conduct of a Parish Councillor and to consider what action should be taken from the following :-

•      No Action

•      Other Action such as training, support, mediation

•      Refer for Investigation

She further advised that where relevant, all the appendices relating to each complaint under consideration at the meeting may be referenced when considering any of the complaints due to the original complaint against each Councillor being the same document.

Members noted that the Subject Member was the Chair at the Parish Council meeting on 9 January 2017.

The Parish Council representative commented that all Bottesford Parish Councillors should be given the opportunity to participate in the Declaration of Interest and Procurement training, as many were new to the role and Members agreed.

Following debate, Other Action of training on Declarations of Interest, Procurement processes and the role of Chair, with this Council being involved in the training was proposed by Councillor Chandler and seconded by Councillor Beaken.  On being put to the vote, Members were unanimously in favour.

RESOLVED that ‘Other Action’ be recommended to the Parish Council as follows:-

•      the Subject Parish Councillor receive training on Declarations of Interest and Procurement processes and the role of Chair.  The Parish Council be requested to involve this Council is the training.