Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chair of the Joint Standards Committee for the 2019/20 municipal year.

Three nominations for Chair were moved, seconded and then voted on in turn, as set out below with the results of the votes:

In view of the tied vote, Members agreed to support the convention followed since the inception of the Joint Standards Committee that the Chair should be a member of City of York Council and the Vice Chair should be a parish council member. It was therefore

Resolved:  That Cllr Douglas be appointed as Chair of the committee.

To appoint a Vice Chair of the Joint Standards Committee for the 2019/20 municipal year.

With reference to the result of the votes already taken and Members’ agreement to follow the convention, as set out in Minute 1 above, it was

Resolved:  That Parish Councillor Wiseman be appointed as Vice-Chair of the committee.

Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they might have in respect of business on this agenda.

Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting 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.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 13 February 2019.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Standards Committee held on 13 February 2019 be approved and signed as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak, regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the remit of the Joint Standards Committee, may do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00 pm on Wednesday, 19 June 2019.  To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting on the details at the foot of the agenda.

Filming or Recording Meetings

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting.  Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officer (whose contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809.pdf

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

To consider the Committee’s work plan and meeting dates for the remainder of the 2019/20 municipal year and any changes or additions that may be required. 

Members considered the committee’s work plan and meeting dates for the current municipal year.

During their discussion, Members stressed the importance of avoiding any further delay to standards business, given the issues that had arisen during the previous year.  They agreed that an additional meeting was required, before the next scheduled meeting in September, in order to receive a full update on the current status of any ongoing standards complaints, reviews and other work recently undertaken by the committee. 

Members noted that the current provisional meeting dates, all on a Thursday, had been arranged before the full membership of the committee was confirmed.  They agreed that it would be more convenient, in terms of their other commitments, to meet on a Wednesday. 

Members also sought clarification on the appointment of substitutes to the committee, expressing the view that there should be parity between CYC and parish council members.  The Monitoring Officer agreed to look into this matter.

Resolved:  (i)      That an additional meeting of the committee be held at 4:00 pm on Wednesday, 24 July 2019.

Reason:     To ensure that business is not unnecessarily delayed.

                   (ii)      That the existing provisional meeting dates all be moved from Thursdays to Wednesdays and then confirmed in the diary, as follows:

·        5 September 2019 – move to 4 September 2019

·        21 November 2019 – move to 20 November 2019

·        23 January 2020 – move to 22 January 2020

·        16 April 2020 – move to 15 April 2020.

Reason:     To provide a better fit for Members’ diaries.

(iii)     That the work plan be confirmed, subject to the amendments to the meeting dates agreed in (ii) above and the additions set out below:

Items for the next meeting, on 24 July 2019:

·        An update on any ongoing standards complaints;

·        An update on the review of the council’s whistleblowing policy;

·        An update on any other work recently carried out by the committee, including items on the last work plan for 2018/19;

·        An initial report or discussion on how the committee can feed into the review of the Constitution.

·        Work plan for 2019/20

Items for future meetings:

·        A review of the openness and transparency of Joint Standards meetings, to include the question of whether they should be recorded.

Reason:     To ensure that the committee has a planned programme of work in place.