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. 

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.

To consider the exclusion of the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following:

To consider the exclusion of the public and press from the meeting during consideration of exempt Annexes A and B to Agenda Item 9 (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 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 07 June 2023.

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.

To approve and sign the minutes of the following meetings of the Joint Standards Sub-Committees:

·       Assessments Sub-Committee 26 June 2023

·       Assessments Sub-Committee 18 September 2023

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.

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 Tuesday, 26 September 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 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. 

This report outlines the statutory scheme for recording member interests and asks the Committee to consider the approach to councillors home addresses, the Local Government Association’s Social Media and Civility in Public Life resources and the use of social media guidance to members.

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.

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 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.

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.