Agenda and draft minutes

To appoint a Chair of the Joint Standards Committee from the City of York committee members, for the 2026/27 municipal year, as per Article 10, paragraphs 1.2 and 1.3 of the Constitution.

Parish Councillor Geoghegan-Breen nominated Councillor Runciman to be appointed as Chair.  This was seconded by Councillor Kent, and it was unanimously

Resolved:            That Councillor Runciman be appointed as Chair of the committee for the 2026/27 Municipal Year.

To appoint a Vice Chair of the Joint Standards Committee from the Parish Council committee members, for the 2026/27 municipal year, as per Article 10, paragraphs 1.2 and 1.3 of the Constitution.

Parish Councillor Geoghegan-Breen was nominated as Vice-Chair by Councillor Kent, this was seconded by Councillor Steward.

Resolved:            That Parish Councillor Geoghegan-Breen be appointed as Vice-Chair of the committee for the 2026/27 municipal year.

To receive and note apologies for absence.

Apologies were received and note from Councillors Pavlovic, and Fisher, Parish Councillors Chambers and Waudby, and Sheila Hollingworth (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 the following:

Annexes A(ii) and B (ii) to agenda item 10(Monitoring report in Respect of Complaints Received) on the grounds that they contain information relating to the identity of individuals, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

This information is classed as exempt under paragraph 2 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A 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(ii) and B(ii) to Agenda Item 10 (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; and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

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 Thursday, 16 July 2026.     

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 approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 18 May 2026.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 18 May 2026 be approved and signed as a correct record.

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 new municipal year.

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

·        Register of Members’ Interests and the system for Declarations of Members’ Interests.

·        Gifts and Hospitality for Councillors and Officers.

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.

During the private part of the meeting, the committee concluded that confidentiality in relation to open cases maintained the integrity of the investigation.  They were satisfied with the additional information in relation to cases provided by officers during the private session, and asked that a consistent approach to updating the report be taken.

Resolved:  That the report be noted.

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