Agenda item

Members of the Standards Committee reported upon their attendance at meetings as follows –

St. Asaph City Council – Councillor Bill Cowie reported upon his attendance at a meeting of St. Asaph City Council during April which had been well conducted.  He advised that the City Council had recently appointed a new member and a further vacancy had arisen which would need to be filled.  He added that the recently appointed Clerk ensured that any councillor declaring an interest completed the appropriate declaration form at the meeting.

North Wales Standards Forum – The Chair reported upon his attendance together with Reverend Wayne Roberts at the North Wales Standards Forum held on 29 April 2014 at County Hall, Mold which had been hosted by Flintshire County Council.  The meeting had been well conducted and he had been impressed by Flintshire’s Monitoring Officer who was very experienced and had a keen approach.  The Chair sought Members’ views on a number of issues raised at the meeting and discussed the following –

Annual General Meeting – Members noted that other Standards Committees held an AGM and considered the merits of introducing this practice.  The Committee supported holding an AGM in order to review their work over the previous twelve months and to consider setting their priorities for the next twelve months.    It was noted that other Standards Committees held meetings with Group Leaders and Members’ agreed to discuss that issue further at their AGM together with a mechanism for consultation with City, Town and Community Councils.  It was also agreed that the next scheduled meeting on 18 July 2014 be combined with an AGM in order to discuss those issues.  The issue of devolution of services to City, Town and Community Councils was raised and subsequently implications for the Standards Committee.  The Monitoring Officer (MO) advised that the issue would be subject to further scrutiny and greater challenge through the standards process.

Training – The Chair reported upon the different training undertaken across different counties.  A proposal had been made at the Standards Forum for a one day training session across the six North Wales authorities delivered by Peter Keith-Lucas focused on how to conduct a hearing.  Anglesey Council had agreed to host the event with 23 & 27 June 2014 being the preferred dates.  The Committee felt they would find the training beneficial and it was agreed that places be prioritised for Standards Committee Members before being offered to other interested councillors.  It was noted that the Chair and Councillor Bill Cowie would be unable to attend on those dates.  The MO agreed to contact Committee Members once details had been confirmed.  In terms of induction training the consensus view was that training was best delivered after attendance at a number of meetings.  Members indicated they were satisfied with the current training provision.

The Chair had been interested to learn there was a judgment pending from a High Court Case involving a Flintshire Councillor and the MO agreed to provide a copy of the judgment when it became available.

RESOLVED that –

(a)       the verbal reports from members’ attending meetings be received and noted;

(b)       the practice of introducing an Annual General Meeting be supported and the Standards Committee’s next scheduled meeting on 18 July 2014 be combined with an Annual General Meeting in order to discuss pertinent issues as detailed above, and

(c)        the proposal for joint Standards Training be supported with Denbighshire’s places prioritised for Standards Committee Members before being offered to other interested councillors.