Agenda and minutes

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:

Annex A (ii) to Agenda Item 9on 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 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 and B to Agenda Item 9 (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 28 September 2023.

Resolved:   That the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 28 September 2023 be approved 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 17 November 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.

This report provides a review of the Member Induction Programme.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer presented the report on the Member Induction programme and highlighted the provision for standards and code of conduct training.  She noted that training had been available in person and via recordings which enabled flexibility for Members.  She also noted that resources were still available.

The level of uptake of the training was the main focus of the Committee’s discussion and it was:

Resolved:            

                                              i.          That the Chair would write to the Group Leaders and Whips to ask them to remind member of the requirements for training. 

                                             ii.          To review the programme again in January 2024.

Reason:                To ensure that the Committee has met the requirement to promote high standards of conduct among Members.

This report sets out: (a) the statutory requirements for Standards arrangements in English Local Authorities and (b) presents options for amending the current City of York Council arrangements.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer (DMO) introduced the review of case handling procedure for complaints.  She noted the aim was to streamline the process to gain financial and resource efficiencies and to simplify procedure to create a robust and user friendly policy.

The DMO responded to a number of questions from Members covering the consistency and clarity of procedures, the process for approving changes to procedure, the role and timescales of the working group and information provided to Members on complaints received that concerned themselves.

Resolved:

                                              i.          That the comments on the report be noted.

                                             ii.          That the DMO to write to group leaders for a view across Members regarding the distribution of information to individual Members on complaints received.

Reason:                To ensure that the case handling procedure for complaints was sufficiently robust and transparent.

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 subject to the following additions to January:

1.    Member Training Update

2.    Parish Cllr Engagement, YLCA

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.