1.1 The Joint Standards Committee shall be a joint committee established pursuant to section 102 of the Local Government Act 1972 consisting of the City of York Council and Parish Councils within the boundary of York. In addition, three Independent Persons will be appointed to the Joint Standards Committee who will each serve no more than two consecutive 4 year terms of office.
1.2 The Chair and Vice Chair of the Joint Standards Committee will be appointed at the first meeting of this Committee in the municipal calendar.
1.3 The Chair should be appointed from City of York Councillors, and the Vice Chair from Parish Councillors.
1.4 The proportionality rules do not apply to the composition of this Committee.
1.5 Any reference to Parish Council within this Article shall include both Parish Councils and Town Councils.
1.6 There is no provision for substitutes to attend this Committee in the event that an appointed committee member is unable to attend a meeting.
2.1 The Joint Standards Committee will be responsible for the following functions:
a) The promotion of a culture of openness, accountability, probity and the maintenance of high standards of conduct by members and co-opted Members of the Councils and other Parish Councils for which the City Council is the principal authority;
b) To assist and support the Monitoring Officer by establishing arrangements for investigating and making decisions in respect of allegations that the code of conduct of either the City Council or a Parish Council for which the City Council is the principal authority has been breached;
c) To undertake an annual review of the Council’s Code of Conduct which responds to the annual review of the Model Code undertaken by the LGA;
d) To respond to consultation documents and raise awareness of proposed changes to the Code of Conduct but adoption and revisions to the Members Code of Conduct shall be reserved to Full Council;
e) To lead on the design and implementation and subsequent review of the Member Development programme, including the induction programme for City of York Councillors, and where necessary and appropriate work in conjunction/collaboration with the Audit and Governance Committee;
f) To oversee programmes of guidance, advice and training on ethics, standards and probity for Members and Officers on the Members Code of Conduct;
g) To be responsible for the Council’s Register of Members Interests and to receive reports from the Monitoring Officer on the operation of the register from time to time;
h) To be responsible for written guidance and advice on the operation of the system of declarations of Members’ Interests and to receive reports from the Monitoring Officer on the operation of the system of declarations from time to time;
i)
To be responsible for written advice
and guidance on the operation of gifts and hospitality for both
Councillors and Officers and to receive reports from the Monitoring
Officer on the operation of the system of declarations from time to
time.
3 Membership of the Joint Standards Committee
3.1 The Joint Standards Committee shall consist of:
a) Five voting Members of the City Council (one from each of the properly constituted political groups and one representative of independent councillors. If there are more than five properly constituted political groups precedence shall be given in terms of group size);
b) Three voting Members representing Parish Councils;
c) Minimum of three non-voting Independent Persons.
3.2 A person who ceases to be a member of a constituent authority for any reason shall cease to be a member of the Joint Standards Committee.
4 Term of office and casual vacancies
4.1 An Elected member of the Joint Standards Committee will hold Office until one of the following occurs:
a) They resign by giving written notice to the Monitoring Officer of the Council that appointed them:
b) They are removed or replaced by the Council that appointed them;
c) They are disqualified from membership of the Joint Standards Committee;
d) They cease to be eligible for appointment to the Joint Standards Committee in the capacity in which they were appointed;
e) The Constituent Authority which appointed them ceases to participate in the Joint Standards Committee.
4.2 A casual vacancy (a vacancy which arises during the municipal year regardless of reason) shall be filled as soon as practicable by the relevant Council. A casual vacancy in the case of a Parish Councillor shall be reported to the Yorkshire Local Councils Association who will seek nominations from the Parish Councils in York. A ballot will then be held, in order to fill the Parish Councillor vacancy on the Committee.
4.3 Three Independent Persons will be appointed to the Joint Standards Committee who will each serve no more than two consecutive 4 year terms of Office.
5 Sub Committees
5.1 The Joint Standards Committee may appoint a Sub Committee in the exercise of its functions, namely an Assessments Sub Committee and a Hearings Sub Committee.
5.2 Save for the purposes of considering complaints pursuant to the Code of Conduct, each person appointed as a member of a Sub Committee must be a voting Member of the Joint Standards Committee.
5.3 The Joint Standards Committee will determine the Membership and terms of reference of the Sub Committee, and the quorum for its Meetings.
5.4 If the Joint Standards Committee appoints more than one Sub Committee to exercise one or more of its functions then it shall ensure that the Monitoring Officer allocates particular matters to a Sub Committee first on the basis of the availability of the Members required to constitute the Sub Committee, and thereafter by rotation, and summonses Meetings accordingly.
6 Meetings and proceedings
6.1 All Joint Standards Committee meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the standing orders or rules of procedure of the City of York Council.
6.2 The Joint Standards Committee may determine procedure rules for its Sub Committees, in particular the Hearing Sub Committee.
7 Withdrawal from the Joint Standards Committee
7.1
A constituent authority may cease to
participate in the Joint Standards Committee by resolution to that
effect communicated in writing to the Monitoring Officer.
8 Expenses of the Joint Committee
8.1
The expenses of the Joint Standards
Committee shall be met by the City Council.
9 Annual Report