Agenda and minutes

To receive and note apologies for absence.

Apologies were received and noted from Cllr Kent, Parish Cllr Waudby and Mr Joe Leigh (Independent Person).

On behalf of the committee members, the Chair conveyed her best wishes and thanks to Mr Leigh, who had announced his retirement from the role as independent person. 

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

[Please see the attached sheet for further guidance for Members.]

Members were asked to declare any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, or any prejudicial interests or disclosable pecuniary interests which they might have in respect of business on the agenda.  None were declared.

To consider the exclusion of the press and public from the meeting during consideration of exempt Annexes A(ii) and B (ii) to Agenda Item 8 (Monitoring report in Respect of Complaints Received) on the grounds that it contains information which is likely to reveal the identity of individuals. 

This information is classed as exempt under paragraph 2 of Part 1  of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as revised by The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

Resolved:   That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the exempt versions of Annexes A and B to Agenda Item 8 (Monitoring Report in Respect of Complaints Received), on the grounds that they contain information likely to reveal the identity of individuals, which is classed as exempt under Paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 08 July 2025.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 8 July 2025 be approved and signed as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at our meetings.  The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Friday, 12 September 2025.     

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online registration form.  If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services.  Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

To consider the Committee’s work plan for the current year and decide whether any amendments or additions are required.

Members considered the committee’s work plan for the current municipal year and agreed the proposed changes to the diarised dates for the meeting in November and March 2026.

The Head of Legal Services asked to bring a revised version of Appendix 29, Joint Standards Committee Procedures to the meeting in November, explaining that the Director of Governance had asked him to review the document with a view to streamlining the process.

The Chair provided an update on the work of the Member Development Working Group, which had its first meeting in August.  She noted some of the topics that they wanted to cover and asked PC Steve Armitage to provide an update on member safety.  The Chair also raised member Corporate Parenting responsibilities as a possible topic for member training and development. 

PC Armitage explained that he was able to provide a personal safety briefing to members through the Operation Ford programme, this could be delivered either in person or via Teams.  Plans were being made by Democratic Services to schedule the briefing for members.  In response to questions, he confirmed that Operation Ford covered only Ward and City Councillors plus MPs, however he was open to Parish Councillors attending the briefings if that could be arranged.  He was asked how members should report incidents to the police and advised that members should log incidents through the police non-emergency number, 101, unless there was an immediate risk in which case the emergency number, 999, should be used.  For advice, he recommended emailing himself and the main Operation Ford address to ensure a prompt response.  It was agreed to invite PC Armitage to the next meeting of the Member Development Working Group.

Resolved:   That the work plan be approved subject to the following additions:

                    20 November 2025: Appendix 29, Joint Standards Committee Procedures, Revisions

Reason:      To ensure that the committee has a planned programme of work in place.

To receive a routine update report on recent standards complaints.

Members considered a report which provided an update on current business as regards complaints.

Resolved:  That the report be noted.

Reason:     To ensure that the committee is aware of current levels of activity.