|
City of York Council |
Minutes |
|
|
Meeting |
Joint Standards Committee |
|
|
Date |
28 September 2023 |
|
|
Present |
Councillors Fisher, Pavlovic, Runciman, and Whitcroft (Substitute for Cllr Lomas) (CYC Members) |
|
|
|
Councillors M Waudby (Vice-Chair in the Chair), Chambers and Rawlings (Parish Council Members) |
|
|
Apologies |
Councillors Rowley and Lomas Mr Leigh (Independent Person) |
|
|
In attendance |
Frances Harrison, Head of Legal and Deputy Monitoring Officer |
|
11. Declarations of Interest (4.01 pm)
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.
Cllr Fisher declared an interest in Agenda Item 9 (Monitoring Report on Complaints Received). Parish Cllr Chambers noted that he was a resident of York.
At a later stage in the meeting, in relation to Item 7 (Register of Member Interests Treatment of Sensitive Interests and Civility in Public Life), Cllr Pavlovic noted that he was exempted from publishing his home address. He therefore took no further part in the discussion on that item.
12. Exclusion of Press and Public (4.02 pm)
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.
13. Minutes (4.03 pm)
Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 7 June 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.
14. Minutes of Sub-Committees (4.03 pm)
It was noted that the meeting of 18 September 2023 was not attended by a Parish Councillor. It was later clarified that if a Parish Councillor is the subject of an assessment, then a Parish Councillor must be included as part of the assessment panel.
Resolved: That the minutes of the following sub-committee meetings be approved and signed as a correct record:
· Assessments Sub-Committee 26 June 2023
· Assessments Sub-Committee 18 September 2023, subject to the removal of ‘Cllr Leigh’ which was a typographical error.
15. Public Participation (4.06 pm)
It was reported that there had been one registration to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
Cllr Mark Warters had registered to speak on Item 9 (Monitoring Report on Complaints Received). The Head of Legal and Deputy Monitoring officer gave advice to Cllr Warters that individual cases could not be referred to during public participation. He was subsequently reminded of this advice by the Chair.
The Head of Legal and Deputy Monitoring officer then restated the Public Participation protocol (appendix 8 to the constitution) for the benefit of the committee.
16. Register of Member Interests Treatment of Sensitive Interests and Civility in Public Life (4.13 pm)
The Head of Legal and Deputy Monitoring officer introduced the report and explained that some members may wish for their personal information to be kept private. She highlighted the Local Government Associated materials that were available.
Members discussed the role of social media had played in the loss of boundaries in relation to citizen engagement and acknowledged the need, in certain circumstances, to protect Members’ confidential information.
Resolved:
i. The Committee noted and endorsed the Monitoring Officer’s approach to Sensitive Interests
ii. The Committee noted and endorsed the LGA’s general guidance in relation to member safety and security; and
iii. The Committee noted and endorsed the LGA specific guidance in relation to the use of social media/digital citizenship “Improving digital citizenship: A practical guide for councillors” at Appendix 1.
17. Review of Work Plan (4.21 pm)
Members considered the committee’s work plan for the 2023-24 municipal year.
Resolved: That the work plan be approved
subject to the following amendment:
Meeting on 21 November 2023
· Preliminary Report on review of Joint Standards policies and procedures.
Reason: To ensure that the committee has a planned programme of work in place.
18. Monitoring Report on Complaints Received (4.22 pm)
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 Waudby, Vice-Chair in the Chair
The meeting started at 4.01 pm and finished at 4.49 pm.