Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, 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.

Members were asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests or other registrable interests not included on the Register of Interests, which they might have in respect of business on the agenda. 

Cllr Fisher declared a non-registrable interest in two of the cases on the list appended to the report at Agenda Item 8 (Monitoring Report in respect of Complaints Received), due to his involvement in those cases.  He left the room during consideration of that item and took no part in the discussion or decision thereon.

To consider the exclusion of the public and press from the meeting during consideration of exempt Annexes A and B to Agenda Item 8 (Monitoring Report on Complaints Received), on the grounds that they contain 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 amended 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 17 November 2022.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 17 November 2023 be approved, and signed as a correct record, subject to the addition of a note against the attendances to indicate that Mr Gadd attended remotely.

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 Tuesday, 17 January 2023.

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.

During coronavirus, we made some changes to how we ran council meetings, including facilitating remote participation by public speakers. See our updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

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

To receive information on work undertaken and support offered by the Yorkshire Local Councils Association (YLCA) in building positive links with Parish and Town Councils.  A representative of the YLCA has been invited to attend and provide an overview of this work.

Members received a report which provided information on the Yorkshire Local Councils Associations (YLCA) and its role in building positive links with parish and town councils, including details of the benefits and training that it offered to its members (Annexes A and B).

Sheena Spence, Chief Officer of YLCA, attended the meeting to expand upon the report and respond to any questions.  She outlined the history and purpose of Local Councils Associations in England and Wales and highlighted the extent of the YLCA membership, which currently comprised 560 local councils and parish meetings.  In response to Members’ questions, she confirmed that:

·        Take-up of training was generally good and remote training had also worked well.

·        She was happy to consider the idea of Independent Persons attending training sessions.

·        She and the Deputy Monitoring Officer had discussed possible training for CYC Members about parish councils.

·        CYC was not unique in the number of Code of Conduct complaints it received about parish councillors; these often resulted from not understanding which interests to declare.

·        It might be appropriate to refer councillors who had breached the code to some of the sessions on the training programme.

·        Where a whole council was dysfunctional this could be addressed by a ‘health check’ of its policies and procedures or a full governance review leading to an action plan.

·        High vacancy rates on parish councils were a problem; it was not clear if CYC could assist with this as it was about making the role more attractive and PCs themselves needed to be proactive.

The Chair thanked Ms Spence for her attendance and contribution.

Resolved:  That the information shared by the YLCA be noted.

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.

Resolved:  That the work plan be approved.

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

To receive a routine update report on the position of ongoing standards complaints.

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

An anonymised list of live complaints was attached at Annex A to the report, and an anonymised list of closed complaints at Annex B.  Full details were provided in an exempt version of each annex.  The annexes were provided in the revised format suggested by Members at the last meeting.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer confirmed that all of the ongoing cases on the list were under investigation and were close to conclusion in terms of finalising the reports.  Discussion of the exempt lists took place in private session, in accordance with the resolution in Minute 15 above.

Cllr Fisher did not take part in either the public or the private session on this item.

Resolved:  That the report be noted.

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