Agenda item

To receive a report from the Monitoring Officer (copy enclosed) which presents to the Committee the Ministerial Letter regarding the Ethical Framework.

The MO delivered a report which presented a letter from the Minister for Local Government and Communities on the Local Government Ethical Framework, and gave an overview of the letter’s content and its significance for the Council. The letter referred to a number of issues covered in the ‘Promoting Local Democracy’ White Paper and offered an update and further guidance on the implementation of the White Paper’s provisions. The Committee discussed these issues and agreed on a response that would be submitted to the Minister.

 

Local resolution of low-level complaints against members’ conduct

 

The Minister had endorsed the recommendation of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for local authorities to adopt a resolution process for low-level member complaints, and authorities had been asked to make arrangements for the voluntary adoption of a common protocol. The MO confirmed that the Council had adopted the protocol and expressed his support for the quicker, more efficient new process for investigating issues that would not otherwise merit the attention of the Ombudsman. The MO envisioned a mediation process involving political group leaders, with an option to escalate complaints to the Standards Committee as necessary. This would be trialled with the County Council before being extended to Town and Community Councils. The Committee were advised any complaints from the public would still need to go to the Ombudsman.

 

The Committee acknowledged the need for a process for resolving low-level complaints, and the importance of the role of the Committee in this process. The Chair asked how the level of complaints would be delineated to determine referral, and the MO suggested that the process was intended to address minor complaints such as allegations of disrespect between members. The MO would consult with the Ombudsman to establish precedent in how specific cases had been handled in the past, which would inform the referral process.

 

The Committee agreed to respond to confirm their support for the local resolution process and to detail the arrangements in place.

 

Voluntary cap on indemnities

 

The White Paper had recommended the introduction of a voluntary cap of £20,000 offered by local authorities as an indemnity to cover legal costs incurred by members subject to misconduct proceedings. The MO explained that the procedure in Denbighshire required an application for an indemnity to be submitted to the Corporate Governance Committee, but that there were no restrictions in place to limit the sums that could be paid. The MO emphasised the importance of members being able to defend themselves against Code of Conduct allegations, but noted the Welsh Government’s concern at the potential for legal costs to spiral. The Council would be obliged to recoup any money paid under the indemnity if a censure is upheld, and the Council would have no flexibility in exercising this.

 

The Ombudsman had indicated that he would be prepared to agree to a mutual cap on legal costs, and the Committee agreed that, as the cap would apply equally, this would probably be considered proportionate under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protected the right to a fair trial. It was, however, agreed to seek to clarification from the Minister.

 

The Committee noted that although the cap on indemnities allowed for a generous sum to be allocated, it was considered to be important that members were offered support to exercise their role, which sometimes involved speaking on contentious subjects with the inherent risk of censure.

 

The Committee agreed to support the introduction of a cap on indemnities payable to members in respect of legal costs, to be placed at £20,000.

 

Amendment of Code of Conduct

 

The Minister indicated his intention to amend the Code of Conduct to remove paragraph 6(1)(c) – the obligation to report any breaches of the Code of Conduct to the Ombudsman – which would facilitate the introduction of the local resolution process for low-level member complaints. Accordingly, if members reported a breach of the Code of Conduct through the new process, the Code of the Conduct itself would no longer be considered to have been breached in respect of failure to report directly to the Ombudsman.

 

Paragraph 10(2)(b) – the obligation for members to declare a personal interest in a decision that might affect their constituents – would also be removed. The literal interpretation of the paragraph would inhibit the representative role of an elected member, and the Minister considered that even without this paragraph, the Code of Conduct made specific provision for members to take decisions objectively.

 

The Committee agreed to support these amendments to the Code of Conduct.

 

Calver Judgement

 

The Minister advised that the Ombudsman had revised his guidance to take account of the judgement in R (Calver) v The Adjudication Panel for Wales. The MO had delivered a presentation on the impact of the case when the Standards Committee met in December.

 

Vexatious Complaints

 

The Minister had requested that arrangements were made to make members aware of the problem of vexatious, malicious and frivolous complains as part of their training. The training delivered to County, Town and Community Councils had made provision for this.

 

Social Media

 

The Minister drew attention to the Ombudsman’s guidance on the use of social media and the potential issues that can be caused. The MO said that members would be expected to conduct themselves as they would in exercising their duties when using social media, and the Committee acknowledged both the advantages and disadvantages of using social media.

 

Register of Interests

 

The MO explained that the Local Government Act 2000 required a register of members’ interests (such as employment, properties, memberships, companies) to be kept. The Deputy Monitoring Officer (DMO) said that a register was maintained but that the ICT department were looking in to a way of publishing this through the Council’s website. The Council occasionally receives Freedom of Information requests, so this would improve access to the public and make the process more efficient. The DMO stated that members would be informed of requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 if the information related to them specifically, but not if the information was already in the public domain. The MO added that members would still be required to declare any interests as appropriate at Council meetings.

 

The MO agreed to summarise the discussion and seek comments from the Chair, before submitting this as a formal response to the Minister’s letter.

 

RESOLVED that the Committee

 

      i.        Supported the Minister’s recommendations in respect of the local resolution framework, the voluntary cap on indemnities and the amendments to the Code of Conduct; and

 

    ii.        Agreed that the Monitoring Officer would respond to the Minister’s letter to advise of the Committee’s support, and give an update of the Council’s progress in implementing the provisions of the White Paper.