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City of York Council |
Minutes |
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Meeting |
Joint Standards Committee |
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Date |
7 June 2023 |
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Present |
Councillors Fisher, Pavlovic (present for Agenda Items 1 and 2), Rowley, Runciman and Kilbane (Substitute for Cllr Lomas) (CYC Members)
Councillors Chambers, Rawlings and M Waudby (Parish Council Members)
Mr Gadd (attending remotely) and Mr Leigh (Independent Persons) |
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Apologies |
Councillor Lomas |
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1. Declarations of Interest
Members were asked at this point to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registrable interest, which they might have in respect of business on the agenda, unless they had already done so in advance on the Register of Interests.
Cllr Fisher declared an interest in Agenda Item 6 (Minutes of Sub-Committees), as the subject member in the case concerned. He left the room during consideration of that item and took no part in the discussion or decision thereon.
At a later stage in the meeting, Cllr Fisher also declared an interest in respect of one of the complaints referred to in Agenda Item 11 (Monitoring Report on Complaints Received) as he was related to one of the parties concerned. He left the meeting at that point and took no further part in the discussion, nor any part in the decision on the item.
2. Appointment of Chair
Cllr Pavlovic nominated Cllr Rowley to be appointed as Chair. The nomination was seconded by Parish Cllr Rawlings, and it was unanimously
Resolved: That Cllr Rowley be appointed as Chair of the committee for the 2023-24 Municipal Year.
3. Appointment of Vice-Chair
Parish Cllr Rawlings nominated Parish Cllr Waudby to be appointed as Vice-Chair. The nomination was seconded by Parish Cllr Chambers, and it was unanimously
Resolved: That Parish Cllr Waudby be appointed as Vice-Chair of the committee for the 2023-24 Municipal Year.
4. Exclusion of Press and Public
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 11 (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.
5. Minutes
Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 20 April 2023 be approved, and signed by the Chair as a correct record.
6. Minutes of Sub-Committees
Resolved: That the minutes of the Joint Standards Assessments Sub-Committee meeting held on 30 March 2023 be approved, and signed by the Chair as a correct record.
7. Public Participation
It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
8. Update on the Member Training Programme
The Deputy Monitoring Officer gave a verbal update on the Member training programme.
The programme had been ongoing since the start of the current municipal year in May. It was designed to be flexible, offering the opportunity to attend in person or remotely, or to view the recorded sessions later. Sessions had been spread out over a period of time to avoid fatigue. Feedback to date had been positive, and the sessions were also proving to be a valuable training resource for officers. The programme would be subject to a full review after its conclusion.
In response to Members’ questions, the Monitoring Officer confirmed that:
· Members were encouraged to attend the training rather than it being mandatory, although they must have up to date training in order to participate in Licensing matters.
· Attendances were monitored via a sign-in sheet for those attending in person and an electronic record on the MyLo system for those attending remotely or on catch-up.
· Arrangements could be made for information on attendances to be shared with Group Leaders.
Resolved: That the presentation, and the information provided, be noted.
9. Review of Work Plan
Members considered the committee’s work plan for the 2023-24 municipal year.
Resolved: (i) That the Chair and Vice-Chair, together with one of the Independent Persons, form a working group to consider the Joint Standards policies and procedures.
(ii) That the work plan be approved subject to the following additions:
Meeting on 21 September 2023
· Report on the Member training programme
· Preliminary report on review of Joint Standards policies and procedures
Meeting on 21 November 2023
· Presentation on the LGA’s Civility in Public Life programme.
Reason: To ensure that the committee has a planned programme of work in place.
10. Monitoring Report on Complaints Received
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.
Cllr M Rowley BEM, Chair
The meeting started at 4.02 pm and finished at 5.16 pm.