Agenda item

The Monitoring Officer to submit a report informing the Committee of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) consultation on the model member code of conduct.

The Monitoring Officer provided a report to inform the Committee of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) consultation on the model Member Code of Conduct.

 

The Monitoring Officer had provided members with a summary of some key points which could be included in the response to the consultation, a summary of which is provided below:

 

·         Further clarity is required on when the Code applies and the standards that apply in different instances.

·         The section “Model Member code of Conduct” does not appear to add value as the requirements would be included within the Principles of Public Life and the Specific Obligation of General Conduct.

·         This section on Specific Obligation makes it clear that the specific obligations only apply when members are acting or giving the impression of acting in their official roles. This is inconsistent with the “Application of the Code” section.

·         Further clarity is required about the application of “civility” and the Council would suggest a qualification for “tit for tat” or politically motivated complaints to be included to ensure that the complaints system is not abused.

·         The Council fully supports the inclusion of the right to expect courtesy from the public and deems is a welcome addition to the Code.

·         The Code should include a specific requirement that members should abide by all equality enactments and not breach or cause the Authority to be in breach of such enactments.

·         There is no requirement to take positive action to support equality and anti discrimination which the Council would also welcome the addition of this requirement

·         The Council supports the drafting of this section on impartiality of Officers as it is already included within its current Code of Conduct.

·         It is the Council’s view that the section on confidentiality and access to information does not go far enough. The Council would strongly request that the requirement not to disclose information acquired which they not only believe to be of a confidential nature but that they ‘ought reasonably to be aware’ should be included.

·         There should be a requirement that a Councillor should not prevent another person from gaining access to information to which that person is entitled by law.

·         The words included within the Council’s current Code of Conduct ‘which could reasonably be regarded’ as bringing the ‘councillor’s office or’ the Authority into disrepute would be a welcome addition.

·         The inclusion of an obligation not to use an Authority’s resource for political gain and a requirement that when using Council resources, they must act in accordance with the Council’s reasonable requirements and policies would be welcome.

·         It is the Council’s view that the threshold for Gifts and Hospitality should be increased in line with the Councils (and many others) policies to £50 but the duty to register should apply to ALL gifts and hospitality but may be accepted where the value is less than £50.

·         There is no inclusion of the requirement to consider the public perception of members accepting gifts and hospitality and this would be a welcome addition.

·         The section on breaches of the Code of Conduct does not appear necessary as it does not add anything substantive. Possible sanctions are included within the “Example LGA Guidance and Recommendations- Internal Resolution Procedure” – these should be moved into this section

·         In terms of registering interests, further guidance of what is meant by ‘family’, ‘friend’ and ‘close associate’ would provide greater clarity.

·         There should be a presumption that the Code is applied in a way that does not obstruct a member’s service on more than one local authority (dual hatted members)

·         The Council’s current Code of Conduct  currently  prevents a member from taking part in a debate or voting, where the interest is such that a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably be regarded as so significant it is likely to prejudice their judgement of the public interest. The Council would strongly suggest that this qualification is included.

 

During discussion the following points were noted for inclusion in the response:

 

·         A requirement to have regard to an authority’s policies around publicity and other corporate operational policies (included within current Code of Conduct).

·         A requirement to have regard to any relevant advice and guidance provided by officers or advisors to the Authority when taking decisions

·         A specific section on which parts of the Code apply when to ensure a consistent approach throughout the Code. References to when the Code will apply are found in many different sections around the document and are confusing. Clarity is required to avoid significant differences in interpretation.

·         A duty to comply with investigations/sanctions as recommended by the Committee for Standards in Public Life (best practice recommendation 2).

·         A specific section on equalities

·         A specific section on social media due to the increase of complaints in this area.

 

The Monitoring Officer and the Council’s Independent Person, both requested Members take the time to read the report and feedback any suggestions to the Monitoring Officer who will be submitting a response by 17 August 2020.

 

The Monitoring Officer also requested that recommendation 2.2 be amended to provide a delegation for her to finalise and submit the Council’s response to the consultation.

 

RESOLVED that:

 

1)    The Committee NOTED the current consultation in regards to the LGA’s model Code of Conduct and will provide any comments to the Monitoring Officer to feed back into a response to the consultation.

 

2)    The Committee APPROVED that delegated authority be given to the Monitoring Officer to submit a response on behalf of the Council and recommend the outcome of the consultation and that the final version of the model member Code of Conduct be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee.