Agenda item

To note the attendance by members of the Standards Committee at County, Town and Community Council and to receive their reports.

Members reported on their attendance at meeting as follows –

·       Independent Member Samuel Jones reported on a meeting of Llanfair DC Community Council held at 7.30pm on Monday 30 October 2023.  Declarations of interest were sought at the beginning of the meeting. The Chair made a personal declaration of interest although she did not specifically express which agenda item it was relating to, it appeared to be related to an item reviewing correspondence. As it was only a review of correspondence, and no decision was being made, it appeared that the member acted in accordance with her declaration. The Chair and Clerk were very efficient in progressing items, whilst giving appropriate discussion time for each. Overall, the meeting was conducted professionally, and debate was constructive. The Clerk was easy to contact and was responsive to messages.

·       Independent Member Peter Lamb reported on a meeting of Dyserth Community Council held at 7pm on 9 October 2023. Declarations of interests were sought at the beginning of the meeting. The Clerk of the meeting was very organised, and information was clearly presented on a video screen. The Committee were friendly and cordial with each other and were respectful of the Chair. The Clerk was confused as to the role of the Standards Committee, thinking that it had a broader scope over Denbighshire County Council (DCC). Overall, the meeting ran smoothly, and the Clerk was easy to contact and supplied the agenda and minutes of the previous meeting.

·       Independent Member Peter Lamb reported on a meeting of the Ruthin Community Council held at 7pm on 20 November 2023.  Declarations of interests were sought at the beginning of the meeting. The meeting was hybrid and worked well with all participants involved following the discussion. The public seats were behind the Committee, and this made it difficult to hear at times. Committees should be reminded that the public should be able to hear the discussions clearly. Overall, the meeting was well orchestrated and contact with the Clerk was straightforward and responsive.

·       The Chair reported on a meeting of the Cynwyd Community Council held at 7.30pm on the 8 November 2023. Declarations of interest were sought at the beginning of the meeting. The Clerk of the meeting was relatively new to the Council and was learning the role as they had not been a Clerk previously. There had been long periods when the Council had no Clerk in post, and times when a previous Clerk was absent due to sickness. The meeting was conducted bilingually, and the agenda was bilingual. Three members of the public participated throughout the meeting on various agenda items. Equipment for hybrid meetings was discussed however, due to the costs it was agreed that it was not a high priority currently for the Council. The Council were struggling to fill vacant Councillor and Clerk posts and due to this it appeared that papers and documents had not been circulated to all Members.

·       The Chair reported on a meeting of Cyffylliog Community Council held at 7pm on the 9 November 2023. Prior to the meeting commencing it was made clear that Members would need to be prompted to declare any declarations of interests as Councillors did not have an understanding of declaring interests. The agenda consisted of 18 items and all of them were covered within the meeting. A discussion on One Voice Wale training courses took place with some confusion over compulsory and voluntary courses and how many they would need to attend.

Members discussed the discrepancy between the workings of Clerks within Community Councils and questioned if training should be offered to ensure continuity. The Monitoring Officer explained that Code of Conduct training was offered to Clerks, generic Clerk training was for the Community Councils themselves to provide however, Denbighshire County Council did offer informal advice to Clerks.

Members agreed the following would be included within generic feedback given to Community Councils –

‘Visits to Community Councils have illustrated the importance of competent and qualified resourced Clerks to ensure the Council is operating effectively and efficiently in providing adequate support to the Chair’. Members further agreed that clarity on personal and prejudicial interests being declared at Community Council meetings be added within the feedback.

RESOLVED: that, subject to the above, the verbal reports from Members attending meetings be noted.