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City of York Council |
Minutes |
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Meeting |
Joint Standards Committee |
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Date |
21 November 2023 |
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Present |
Councillors Rowley (Chair), Runciman, Baxter (Substitute for Cllr Pavlovic), Fenton (Substitute for Cllr Fisher) and Melly (Substitute for Cllr Lomas) (CYC Members) |
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Parish Councillors Waudby (Vice-Chair) and Chambers
Mr Leigh (Independent Person) |
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Apologies |
Councillors Pavlovic, Fisher, Lomas (CYC Members) and Parish Councillor Rawlings |
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19. Declarations of Interest
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.
20. Exclusion of Press and Public
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.
21. Minutes
Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 28 September 2023 be approved as a correct record.
22. Public Participation
It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
23. Member Induction Programme 2023
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.
24. Review of the Case Handling Procedure For Complaints Under The Member Code Of Conduct
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.
25. Review of Work Plan
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 the meeting 31 January 2024:
1. Member Training Update
2. Parish Cllr Engagement, YLCA
Reason: To ensure that the committee has a planned programme of work in place.
26. Monitoring Report on Complaints Received
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 Rowley BEM, Chair
The meeting started at 4.00 pm and finished at 5.41 pm.