Minutes:
In accordance with the provisions of Part III of the Local Government Act 2000 (as amended) and the Regulations made thereunder the Director of Law and Corporate Governance submitted for consideration proposals for the appointment of a Sub-Committee of the Standards Committee to hear and determine the results of investigations into allegations of Member misconduct conducted by the Ethical Standards Officers and the Monitoring Officer or his/her nominee.
The Committee was advised that the Parish Councils had been consulted on the proposal. One Member from Wexham Court Parish Council had objected to the suggested quorum for the Sub-Committee which was three Members, two of whom to be non/elected Independent Members. The Parish Councillor advocated that no group of Members should have a prescribed majority. The Committee was reminded that it had always been the Council’s view that the Independent Members acting together should be able to outvote any group of Members belonging to the same party on the Committee. This was a view that the Members of the current Committee endorsed.
The Committee considered the proposed composition and terms of reference of the Sub-Committee, amended to take into account representations made since the report had been published. The main change proposed was the appointment of seven Members of the Standards Committee, including the Chair, to form a pool from which the five Members of the Sub-Committee would be drawn. The Chair of the Committee would be a standing Member of the Sub-Committee and the four remaining Members would be drawn from the pool in alphabetical order in strict rotation. The seven Members in the pool would comprise the four independent co-opted Members and three elected Members.
The Director of Law and Corporate Governance reported receipt of notice of a complaint to be referred by one of the Standards Board for England’s Ethical Standards Officers to the Monitoring Officer for investigation. The complaint was in respect of an allegation that a Member had failed to disclose a personal and prejudicial interest. The Council had three months to complete the investigation and determine the matter and in order to meet this tight timetable, meetings of the Sub-Committee might need to be called at short notice. As previously agreed, the complaint had been delegated for investigation to the Deputy Monitoring Officer (or her nominee) so that the Monitoring Officer could advise the Sub-Committee without any perceived conflict of interest.
Resolved –
(a) That a Standards (Local Determination) Sub-Committee be appointed with the composition and terms of reference as set out in Appendix 1 to these Minutes and the Committee’s terms of reference be amended accordingly.
(b) That the following Members be appointed to form a pool from which Members will be drawn to serve on the Standards (Local Determination) Sub-Committee for the remainder of the current municipal year:-
Elected Members:-
Councillors Neil Arnold, Sumandar Khan and Mewa Mann.
Independent Co-opted Members:-
Messrs Fred Ashmore, Mike Field and Zahire Khan and The Reverend Paul Lipscomb.
(c) That appropriate training be arranged for Members of the Sub-Committee.
(d) That membership of the Sub-Committee be dependent upon the Member having undergone appropriate and up-to-date training.