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City of York Council |
Minutes |
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Meeting |
Joint Standards Committee |
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Date |
23 January 2025 |
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Present |
Councillors Fisher, Pavlovic, Runciman, Kent (CYC Members)
Councillors Waudby (Vice-Chair, in the Chair) Geogheghan-Breen (Parish Council Members),
Mr J Leigh and Ms R Mazza (Independent Persons) |
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Apologies |
Councillor Rowley BEM and Parish Councillor Chambers |
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23. Apologies for Absence (4.05 pm)
Apologies were received from the Chair, Councillor M Rowley BEM, and Parish Councillor C Chambers.
24. Declarations of Interest (4.05 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.
None were declared.
Subsequently, on the commencement of the consideration of Item 8, Open Consultation on strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England, Cllr Pavlovic noted a potential conflict of interest as the Executive Member responsible for standards. He therefore took no part in the debate or decision making for that item.
25. Exclusion of Press and Public (4.05 pm)
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.
26. Minutes (4.05 pm)
Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 12 November 2024 be approved as a correct record.
27. Minutes of Sub-Committees (4.06 pm)
Resolved: That the minutes of the
following sub-committee meetings be approved as a correct
record:
· Joint Standards Hearing, 12 November 2024
28. Public Participation (4.06 pm)
It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
29. Open Consultation on Strengthening the Standards and Conduct Framework for Local Authorities in England (4.06 pm)
Members considered the briefing paper, prepared by the Deputy Monitoring Officer, on the Government local authority standards consultation and agreed to submit a collective response on behalf of the Council, in consultation with the Leader and the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Members debated the consultation questions contained in Annex 1, Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England, and agreed the response of the committee for each question.
Resolved: That a response to the consultation be submitted on behalf of the Council in consultation with the Leader and COO.
Reason: To address long-standing concerns in respect of ineffective standards sanctions.
30. Review of Work Plan (5.29 pm)
Members considered the committee’s work plan for the current municipal year.
Resolved: That the work plan be approved subject to the following additions:
· An update on the Local Government Standards framework, when available.
Reason: To ensure that the committee has a planned programme of work in place.
31. Monitoring Report in Respect of Complaints Received (5.30 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 4.05 pm and finished at 5.36 pm.