Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Teri Reynolds, Democratic Services Officer
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To approve the record of the meeting held on 23 February 2015 and the record of the Joint Meeting of Committees held on 27 May 2015. Additional documents: Minutes: The record of the Councillor Conduct Committee meeting on 23 February 2015 and the record of the Joint Meeting of Committees held on 27 May 2015 were agreed and signed by the Chairman as correct. |
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Apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs Diane Chambers, Godwin and Kemp. |
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Urgent matters by reason of special circumstances The Chairman will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which he/she has agreed should be considered by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the report. Minutes: There were none. |
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Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests A member need only disclose at any meeting the existence of a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) in a matter to be considered at that meeting if that DPI has not been entered on the disclosable pecuniary interests register maintained by the Monitoring Officer.
A member disclosing a DPI at a meeting must thereafter notify the Monitoring Officer in writing of that interest within 28 days from the date of disclosure at the meeting.
A member may not participate in a discussion of or vote on any matter in which he or she has a DPI (both those already registered and those disclosed at the meeting) and must withdraw from the room during such discussion/vote.
Members may choose to voluntarily disclose a DPI at a meeting even if it is registered on the council’s register of disclosable pecuniary interests but there is no legal requirement to do so.
Members should also ensure they disclose any other interests which may give rise to a conflict under the council’s code of conduct.
In line with the training provided to members by the Monitoring Officer members will also need to consider bias and pre-determination in certain circumstances and whether they have a conflict of interest or should otherwise leave the room for Code reasons. Minutes: Disclosable pecuniary interests
There were none.
Other interests
There were none. |
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Conduct of Councillors This report provides an update on the work being carried out following a motion agreed at Full Council on 23 April 2015 on the legislation related to the conduct of individuals in elected office. Minutes: Discussion:
The Monitoring Officer introduced the report which updated the committee on the work undertaken following a motion agreed at Full Council on 23 April 2015, regarding the legislation relating to the conduct of Councillors in elected office.
The report also referred to some work undertaken by Kingston Council which was seeking to introduce a ‘right of recall’ provision to allow citizens to “sack” their serving local Councillors if, for example, their attendance at Council meetings fell below 20%, if they were convicted of a crime attracting any prison sentence or if they moved residence outside of the borough. It was therefore suggested that the Monitoring Officer maintain a watching brief on national developments.
Decision:
The Committee noted the current legal framework relevant to the conduct of Councillors and instructed the Monitoring Officer to maintain a watching brief on national developments. |
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Exclusion of the press and public This report summarises the content of agenda item 7, which, in the opinion of the proper officer, contains exempt information within one of the categories in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. It is a matter for the Committee to determine whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of document. Minutes: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the exempt material relating to agenda item 7 because consideration of these matters in public would disclose information falling within Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as specified in agenda item 6,and, in all the circumstances of the case, the Committee considers that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. |
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Complaint CCC/2015/001 The committee is requested to consider a complaint relating to the conduct of a parish councillor. Minutes: Discussion
The Committee considered complaint number CCC/2015/001, received by the Monitoring Officer on 13 May 2015, which related to a parish councillor.
The Monitoring Officer circulated additional evidence provided by the complainant, which the committee had agreed to accept, plus additional information about related matters.
Members of the Committee expressed concern that some of the evidence that was provided by the complainant was difficult to read and a view was also made that the committee should defer consideration and screening of this complaint to allow police proceedings to conclude.
Decision:
(1) The Committee determined that the screening of complaint CCC/2015/001 be deferred to a future meeting of the Committee, once police proceedings have concluded.
(2) The Committee also requested the Monitoring Officer to request the complainant to provide clearer copies of the evidence that was difficult to read.
Reasons:
The committee considered that continuing with screening of the complaint at this stage may prejudice ongoing Police investigations. |