| Item | Description | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| PART 1 - PUBLIC | ||
| MATTERS FOR RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL | ||
| ST 12/007 |
Localism Act 2011 - The New Standards Regime |
The Chief Solicitor and Monitoring Officer's report and supplementary report, circulated prior to the meeting, provided an update on developments since the last meeting of the Standards Committee regarding changes to the system for regulation of standards of conduct for elected and co-opted councillors. A number of key elements of the new regime discussed at the recent workshop with parish and town councils were summarised in the report. In particular, parish representatives expressed the view that the committee and its hearing panels should be more balanced than currently proposed and should contain a greater number of parish councillors, specifically when dealing with a complaint against a parish councillor. A model Code of Conduct had now been finalised by the Kent Secretaries and was attached as Annex 1 to the supplementary report. A correction to the Code was tabled at the meeting and noted by the Committee. Members were advised that the obligation to disclose a pecuniary interest applied not only to an interest of the member or co-opted member in question, but also to those of their spouse, civil partner or a person with whom they were living as husband/wife, or as if they were civil partners where the member was aware that the other person had the interest. This marked a departure from the current obligation to register personal interests with the Monitoring Officer, which did not extend to persons other than the member. In addition, it was reported that there were criminal sanctions for failure to declare and notify Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and attention was drawn to the arrangements attached at Annex 2 to the supplementary report. This considered the relationship between an allegation of a criminal matter and a breach of the Code and how this would be dealt with in practice. The proposed timetable for implementation of the new provisions had now been confirmed. In practical terms this meant that the new ethical standards regime set out in the Localism Act 2011 came fully into effect on 1 July 2012. Careful consideration was given to the interim measures set out in the reports of the Chief Solicitor and Monitoring Officer, along with the composition and establishment of a joint Standards Committee. RECOMMENDED: That: (1) the Kent Model Code of Conduct, as set out at Annex 1 of the report, which dealt with the conduct expected of members and co-opted members of this authority when they were acting in that capacity be adopted, the Code to be effective from 10 July 2012; (2) the Kent Model Code of Conduct be commended to the town and parish councils within the borough; (3) the requirements of the Localism Act for members to notify the Monitoring Officer of any disclosable pecuniary interests ('DPIs') and of the duty of the Monitoring Officer to establish and maintain a register of members' interests be noted; (4) the Arrangements contained within Annex 2 to the report under which allegations of non-compliance with the Code can be investigated and under which decisions can be made, be approved. The arrangements shall be effective from 10 July 2012; (5) the Standards and Training Committee be confirmed as the appropriate Committee to discharge the responsibilities of the Borough Council for ethical standards under the Localism Act 2011. The Committee shall be composed of 13 elected members of the Borough Council whose appointment shall be governed by political proportionality; (6) 5 representatives of the Town and Parish Councils within the borough be co-opted as non-voting members of the Standards and Training Committee. The 5 representatives shall be drawn on a rotational basis from the pool of existing Town and Parish representatives on the Standards Committee; (7) a Hearing Panel be established as a Sub-Committee of the Standards and Training Committee. The Panel shall comprise 5 Borough members of the Standards and Training Committee together with 4 co-opted representatives from the Town and Parish Councils, to be drawn from the members of the Standards and Training Committee on a pool basis; (8) the Monitoring Officer be authorised to make amendments to the Code and Arrangements at Annexes 1 and 2 to the report to reflect the Model arrangements intended to be adopted across the county of Kent; (9) the Terms of Reference/Delegations to the Standards and Training Committee and Hearing Panels, as set out in Annex 3 to the report, be approved; (10) the Scheme of Delegations of Officers with regard to Council functions be amended so as to confer on the Monitoring Officer the delegation of functions set out in Annex 4 to the report; (11) the Procedure Rule set out in Annex 5 to the report be adopted with effect from 10 July 2012; (12) the Monitoring Officer be requested to keep the Code and Arrangements under review and to report further to the Council or Standards and Training Committee when considered necessary and following further dialogue with Parish Councils; (13) the Monitoring Officer be requested to write to all Town and Parish Councils in the Borough to invite them to indicate whether their Council would be agreeable to the creation of a Joint Standards Committee comprising 13 Borough Councillors, 6 parish representatives (to be appointed on a rotational basis drawn from a pool of Town/Parish representatives) and the independent person(s). Where there is a complaint against a Parish Councillor, it is proposed that the Hearing Panels be made up of 3 Borough Councillors, 3 parish representatives drawn from the pool and an independent person. Where practicable, the members of the Hearing Panel would be drawn from a different planning area of the Borough than the member against whom the complaint has been made. If this proposal is agreed the arrangement be formalised at a future meeting of the Council (possibly 6 November 2012); and (14) the Monitoring Officer be requested to write to all Town and Parish Councils in the Borough strongly commending them to adopt the Kent Model Code of Conduct. *Referred to Council |