| 156 | RECORD OF THE MEETING |
| | | The record of the meeting held on 8 June 2005 was signed by the Chairman as correct, subject to the following amendment:
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| "59 RESPONSE TO CONSULTATION ON CODE OF CONDUCT
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| Decision:
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| The committee agreed the suggested draft response that was appended to the report together with the amendments agreed at the meeting. The committee thanked Cliffe and Cliffe Woods Parish Council for its comments." |
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| 157 | APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE |
| | | An apology for absence was received from Christine Johnson (Independent member). |
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| 158 | UPDATES ON STANDARDS ISSUES |
| | Discussion: |
| | | The Assistant Director, Legal and Contract Services, updated the committee on developments relating to the work of the committee including:
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| | • | the latest meeting of the Kent and Medway Independent Members Group which had sent a joint response to the Standards Board of England on the proposed amendments to the Code of Conduct;
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| | • | members were circulated a copy of the latest bulletin from the Standards Board;
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| | • | the latest work with the parishes, (which had been requested by the committee);
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| | • | the preparation of an annual report;
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| | • | engaging political leaders;
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| | • | the remit of the committee;
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| | • | Assembly of Standards Committees meeting in the Autumn;
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| | • | training. |
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| | > Update on standards issues (pdf file 12.8kb) |
| | Decision: |
| | | The committee agreed:
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| | (a) | that the notes from the meeting with Parish Clerks are sent to the Parish Chairmen with a covering letter from the Assistant Director, Legal and Contract Services;
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| | (b) | that an annual report on work of the committee is prepared and put to the committee each year before presentation to the last ordinary meeting of the council before the annual meeting.
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| | (c) | that a programme is compiled, with the agreement of the Chairman, to engage political leaders with the work of the committee including inviting them to meetings;
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| | (d) | that a copy of the current terms of reference is circulated to all members to consider any other areas of work that the committee may wish to undertake in the future and bring these to the next meeting;
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| | (e) | that the 16 November meeting is amended to begin at 6pm as a training session and that the political group whips are invited to attend as observers. The press are to be notified that the meeting at 7pm is cancelled. |
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| 159 | EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC |
| | | The committee agreed to ask the press and public to leave the meeting part way through the item because part of the report contained sensitive information relating to details of the arrangements to prevent corruption and risk management. The information was considered to be exempt under paragraph 14 of part 1 of schedule 12 A of the Local Government Act 1972. |
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| | > Exclusion of the press and public (pdf file 10.2kb) |
| 160 | MONITORING OF COMPLIANCE WITH CIPFA/SOLACE CODE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE |
| | Discussion: |
| | | The committee received the annual report on compliance on the CIPFA/SOLACE Code of Governance at Medway.
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| The Audit Services Manager updated members with details of the work involved together with procedures and strategies that have been put in place to improve the ratings from 'satisfactory' to 'good'. |
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| | > Monitoring of compliance (pdf file 14.1kb) |
| | > Appendix A Final Corp Gov Report Part 1 (pdf file 27.8kb) |
| | > Appendix B Final Corp Gov Report Part 2 (pdf file 83.0kb) |
| | Decision: |
| | | The committee endorsed the Audit of Corporate Governance and requested that the Audit Team gives a presentation of their work at a future meeting. |
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