Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chair of the Joint Standards Committee for the 2022/23 municipal year.

Cllr Fisher nominated Cllr Rowley to be appointed as Chair.  The nomination was seconded by Cllr D’Agorne, and it was unanimously

Resolved:  That Cllr Rowley be appointed as Chair of the committee for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

To appoint a Vice Chair of the Joint Standards Committee for the 2022/23 municipal year.

It was noted that the position of Vice-Chair was customarily held by a parish council member, and that Cllr Rawlings had been appointed as Vice-Chair at the Annual Meeting of City of York Council in May.

As there were no parish council members physically present at the meeting, it was.

Resolved:  That the formal appointment of the Vice-Chair be deferred to the next meeting.

Reason:     To enable the parish council members to participate in the vote.

At this point in the meeting, 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.

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 13 (Monitoring Report on Complaints Received).  He left the room during the private session when that item was discussed.

In respect of Item 13, Cllr Kilbane later stated that he had made public comments about one of the complaints.  He left the room when that case was discussed.

To consider the exclusion of the public and press from the meeting during consideration of exempt Annexes A and B to Agenda Item 13 (Monitoring Report on Complaints Received), on the grounds that they contain 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 of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended 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 13 (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 20 April 2022.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 20 April 2022 be approved as a correct record, to be signed at a later date by Cllr Rawlings (who chaired the meeting), subject to the following amendment:

·        In the second paragraph of Minute 53, amend ‘the Executive Member for Transport’ to ‘the Executive Member for Environment & Climate Change’.

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To approve and sign the minutes of the Joint Standards Assessments Sub-Committee meeting held on 19 May 2022.

There being no members of the Sub-Committee present, it was

Resolved:  That approval of the minutes of the Joint Standards Assessment Sub-Committee meeting held on 19 May 2022 be deferred to the next meeting.

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 have changed to 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 Tuesday, 28 June 2022. 

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've made some changes to how we're running council meetings. See our coronavirus updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

It was reported that there had been one registration to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Cllr Warters spoke on Agenda Item 13 (Monitoring Report on Complaints Received), objecting to the Monitoring Officer’s decision to dismiss a complaint he had submitted against an Executive Member.

This report invites Members to provide their views on a finalised draft Annual Report for 2021/2022, ahead of its presentation to Full Council later in the year.

Members considered a report which invited their views on a finalised draft Annual Report for 2021/2022, as attached at Annex A, prior to its presentation to Full Council.

The Monitoring Officer reported that the recruitment process for Independent Persons had now concluded and new appointments would be confirmed by Council on 14 July.  The Chair expressed his thanks for the work done by the previous Independent Persons, Mr Laverick and Ms Davies.

Following discussion, it was

Resolved:  That the draft Annual Report be noted, and approved subject to an update of the section on the recruitment of Independent Persons, as discussed, and the inclusion of:

·        Headline figures on the number of complaints received in previous municipal years;

·        Further details in respect of dispensations granted.

Reason:     To enable the submission of the final Annual Report to Full Council.

This report provides an update on the activity undertaken (where possible) at City of York Council in response to the Recommendations published by the Committee for Standards in Public Life Review of Local Government Ethical Standards in January 2019.

Members considered a report which provided an update on the work undertaken at City of York Council in response to the recommendations published by the Committee for Standards in Public Life Review of Local Government Ethical Standards in January 2019.

The government responses to the 24 recommendations were set out in paragraphs 7-44 of the report, along with action already taken by the council. 

The Monitoring Officer responded to Members’ questions, confirming that the council had responded positively where it could, but that its hands were tied in respect of those recommendations that required primary legislation.

Resolved:  That the Government’s formal response and the progress made where possible by City of York Council in meeting the Committee for Standards in Public Life Recommendations, as detailed in the report, be noted.

Reason:     So that the committee has an overview of the response to the Recommendations.

This report provides an update on the position regarding the development of a member training programme, in so far as it relates to the ethical governance framework.

Members considered a report which provided an update on the development of a member training programme, in relation to the ethical governance framework.

The aim of Audit & Governance Committee, which had oversight of the formulation of the Member Development Programme, was to finalise the programme by December 2022, in readiness for the City Elections in May 2023.  Ethical Governance training would be an important part of the induction process after the elections. Proposals for inclusion in that training were listed in paragraph 3 of the report.

In discussing the proposals, Member agreed that the training should be mandatory and should be delivered in a variety of formats.  They suggested the following additions to the list at paragraph 3:

·        Equalities training to be developed with appropriate stakeholder groups and delivered by people with lived experience of protected characteristics.

·        The public interest, and Members’ role in this.

Resolved:  (i)      That any further suggested additions to the bullet points at paragraph 3 be sent to the Chair and / or Monitoring Officer.

                   (ii)      That the committee’s views be shared with the Audit & Governance Committee as part of their established work plan.

                   (ii)      That the Chair and Vice-Chair continue to work jointly with the Chair of Audit & Governance Committee on the development of ethical governance training as part of the overall programme.

Reason:     To ensure that the Joint Standards Committee is properly involved in this aspect of the Member Development Programme.

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 2022/23 municipal year.

Resolved:  That the work plan be approved subject to the addition of the following items to the next 2 meeting dates:

                   15 September 2022:

·        Attendance by YLCA

·        Member Training Programme update

17 November 2022:

·        Member Training Programme update

·        Review of Social Media Policy

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 with regard to complaints.

An anonymised list of live complaints was attached at Annex A to the report, and an anonymised list of closed complaints at Annex B.  Full details were provided in an exempt version of each annex. Discussion of the exempt lists took place in private session, in accordance with the resolution in Minute 4 above.

In response to matters raised under Public Participation, the Monitoring Officer confirmed that correct procedures had been followed in respect of the case in question.

Resolved:  That the report be noted.

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